Canadians barricaded in Mexican hotel

Several cities in the country erupted in violence after the arrest of alleged cartel drug trafficker

Some Canadian tourists in Mexico remained barricaded in their hotel Friday while others saw calm return after the arrest of a major alleged drug cartel leader led to violence in parts of the country.

Vancouverite Dominique Carole Maraj said Mazatlan seemed to have mostly returned to normal with people back out enjoying the beach.

“It’s fairly calm and relatively uneventful,” Maraj said from an apartment on a private beach. “Everyone’s just hoping everything goes back to normal.”

Meanwhile, others remained behind barricades.

“They’re safe in their hotel,” said Tina Dahl, an Edmonton woman with relatives stranded in Mazatlan.

She said her six family members had been staying in their hotel rooms since Thursday afternoon.

Several cities in the Mexican state of Sinaloa exploded into violence Thursday after the arrest of alleged drug trafficker Ovidio (The Mouse) Guzman, who is a son of former cartel boss Joaquin (El Chapo) Guzman. The violence is particularly fierce in Culiacan, Mazatlan, Los Mochis and Guasave.

A Canadian government official said the Culiacan and Mazatlan airports reopened Friday, although it wasn’t clear when Canadian flights would resume. The Los Mochis airport remained closed.

Dahl’s brother, sister-in-law, their three children and her sister-inlaw’s mother are all in Mazatlan. The children are ages 10, eight and seven. They were to fly out Thursday evening, but street fighting closed the airport and buses that were to take them there were burned in front of the hotel.

Dahl, who has been in touch with her family through social media, said they described a scene of chaos.

Stranded travellers who had checked out of their rooms but whose flights were cancelled slept in the lobby of the hotel, she said. Military and police vehicles trundled up and down beaches. Helicopters patrolled the skies.

“My brother did call my mom and dad yesterday and he’s like, ‘It’s something I’ve never seen before. It’s like something in the middle of a war zone and I don’t know what to think and feel.’ He’s definitely shaken.”

The Canadian government advised travellers in Mexico to shelter in place, avoid crowds and demonstrations, and not to try to cross blockades.

WestJet said it cancelled two flights in and out of Mazatlan on Friday. Air Canada said none of its flights were affected by the unrest. Sunwing did not respond to a request for information on its flights.

The federal government continues to advise Canadians in Mexico to shelter in place, avoid crowds and not to try to cross blockades