Ottawa warns Canadians who want to travel to certain regions

(OTTAWA) Federal government advises Canadians in parts of Mexico to limit travel and ‘take refuge if possible,’ amid spike in violence following arrest of ‘El Chapo’s’ son .

The violence is said to be particularly marked in Culiacán, Mazatlán, Los Mochis and Guasave.

Canadian tourists were stuck inside a Mexican hotel on Thursday as buses due to transport them safely to an airport were engulfed in flames outside.

“It’s just chaos,” said Tina Dahl from Edmonton, whose six family members are stranded in the popular tourist town of Mazatlán. They were to fly Thursday evening.

The violence began after a pre-dawn security operation in which security forces captured a possible drug trafficker, the son of former cartel boss Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.

Canadian officials wrote on Twitter that cars were set on fire, shots were fired and there was a threat to critical infrastructure, including airports.

The Canadian government says Culiacán and Mazatlán airports are closed and all flights have been suspended at Los Mochis airport until further notice.

Jason Kung, spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada, said Canadians should avoid non-essential travel to several areas of Mexico due to high levels of violence and the presence of organized crime.

Canadians requiring emergency consular assistance can contact Global Affairs Canada’s Emergency Watch and Response Center at 001-800-514-0129 (toll-free from Mexico only ), by text message at +1613-686-3658, by WhatsApp at +1613-909-8881, by Telegram at Emergency Canada Abroad or by email at sos@international.gc.ca.

Burned buses

Mrs. Dahl mentioned that her brother, her sister-in-law, their three children aged 7, 8 and 10, as well as her sister-in-law’s mother were taken from their hotel room.

“They’re supposed to be back today [Thursday], but they’re stuck in their hotel because the three buses that were supposed to go to the airport were set on fire by the [drug] cartel,” she said. Explain.

Without a telephone line to the hotel, Ms. Dahl said she was able to communicate with her relatives through the social network Facebook.

“They all seem to be doing well,” she said. [They are] obviously shaken. Just reading between the lines of text messages and other messages, they are quite shaken. »

The violence comes days before President Andrés Manuel López Obrador will host Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and US President Joe Biden at a summit of North American leaders in Mexico City.