Safe in Mexico During Aftermath of Fatal Cartel Capture

By Zerline Hughes Spruill

I’m OK. We’re OK. But others – both locals and foreigners hundreds of miles away from where we reside – are a bit shaken up and currently “sheltering in place” per government officials’ recommendations following a Mexican military operation that targeted and reportedly killed Jalisco New Generation Cartel leader Nemesio Ruben Oseguera Cervantes. This occurred in the state of Jalisco, but its impact is now carrying over to nearly a dozen other states like Michoacán, Guerrero, Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon and Guanajuato – where we lived for two and a half months and have dear friends. I saw an unconfirmed report impacting our neighboring state, Baja California which is under 900 miles away on the peninsula.

We live in the state of Baja California de Sur at the bottom of Mexico’s peninsula. Our county, La Paz, is situated off of the Sea of Cortes, also known as the Gulf of California and people refer to the rest of the country as “the mainland.” So, instead of seeing billows of smoke and hearing police and fire sirens, I was fortunate enough to spend this 77-degree Sunday at the beach to reset in advance of another week of searching for new writing gigs. But my social media timeline, notifications, DMs, WhatsApp messages and SMS texts kept me from fully relaxing.

Following the news of Cervantes’ reported capture and death, road blockades, intentional car, building and gas stations fires and flight cancellations were reported, in some parts of the country. The expat groups I belong to on Facebook were buzzing with rumors and live reports. During real-time check ins between other expats in my circle, one friend in San Miguel de Allende located in Guanajuato said residents are getting conflicting messages about curfews and staying home. Another friend there said school is canceled tomorrow. (Imagine having to tell your young children why they can’t go to school tomorrow.) A friend here in Baja Sur who is from Guadalajara in Jalisco, is receiving call backs from friends and family reporting that while everyone is OK, “it’s pretty scary over there, right now.” More closures and alerts are likely to occur over the next 24 to 48 hours.

We continue to be calm but my surprise trip to Southern California to visit my mother this week for her birthday is looking like it will be canceled. Not because the airline has canceled travel to the states, though. While several American airlines have, in fact, canceled flights from Puerto Vallarta and Guanajuato, at this writing, nothing has been canceled where I am. I just don’t want to be on an American airline departing Mexico bound for the states just days after today’s chilling events. News reports have stated the capture is, in part, due to U.S. pressure. Since he took the role as president in 2025, Donald Trump has been pressuring Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum to make a dent in ceasing drug trafficking and ending cartel violence. CNN.com reported that Cervantes, even though killed by the Mexican military, shows “tangible results to the Trump administration.”

I do not want to get caught up in the tug of war that is happening, so I’m thinking about voluntarily sheltering in place on the beach as long as it continues to be safe, instead of hopping on a plane to spend quality time with my mother. Heck, I won’t even be able to use my Global Entry status with the recently announced Homeland Security cutbacks (but TSA PreCheck is still in operation).

Most importantly, we are safe in Baja California de Sur. Thank you for the messages, concern and care. And in all transparency, we are still feeling safer here than in the states. Still.

For U.S. residents in impacted areas, the Department of State urges people to call the U.S. Embassy and consulates in Mexico at (55) 8526 2561 (within Mexico) or +1-844-528-6611 (from the U.S.). It also recommends the following actions: