U.S. and Canadian airlines canceled flights to parts of Mexico on Sunday after Mexican officials said drug lord Nemesio Oseguera, known as “El Mencho,” had been killed in a military operation, sparking clashes in Jalisco state and prompting travel advisories.
United Airlines canceled all Sunday flights to Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara.
Southwest Airlines also canceled all flights arriving in and departing Puerto Vallarta on Sunday.
LEVEL DRUG RUNNER ‘EL MENCHO’ KILLED IN MEXICAN MILITARY OPERATION WITH US INTELLIGENCE SUPPORT
Airlines in the US and Canada canceled flights to parts of Mexico on Sunday after Mexican drug lord El Mencho was killed during a military operation. (Kevin Carter/Getty Images/Getty Images)
American Airlines has canceled its remaining Sunday flights to Puerto Vallarta, Guadalajara and Mazatlán.
Air Canada said it has temporarily suspended operations in Puerto Vallarta.
As of publication, no further cancellations had been announced after Sunday.
Several airlines said they have issued travel waivers, allowing affected passengers to rebook without change fees.
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No flight cancellations have been announced for days after Sunday. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images/Getty Images)
The flight changes come after Mexican forces reportedly carried out operations earlier Sunday in Tapalpa, Jalisco, targeting El Mencho, a former police officer who became the leader of the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación, which has been identified by US authorities as a major supplier of fentanyl to the United States.
Government officials warned of clashes in Jalisco and broader criminal activity, prompting the U.S. Embassy in Mexico to issue shelter-in-place advisories for several states.
El Mencho received a US bounty of $15 million and came to power after the arrest of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, the former head of the Sinaloa Cartel. Over the past fifteen years, the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación has grown from a regional criminal group to a global human trafficking organization operating from its stronghold in Jalisco.
Some airlines have announced they have introduced waivers allowing passengers affected by the cancellations to rebook their flights without change fees. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images/Getty Images)
“I just learned that Mexican security forces have killed ‘El Mencho,’ one of the bloodiest and most ruthless drug lords,” US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said in a message on
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Mexico’s Defense Ministry said the operation was carried out as part of bilateral coordination and cooperation with the US, and that US authorities provided additional intelligence that contributed to El Mencho’s killing.
