Puerta Vallarta is, by most reports, a pleasant place for a vacation, or at least, it was. On Sunday, we learned that tourists from the United States and elsewhere were asked to not leave the resort properties. In effect, to shelter in place. The request comes after Mexican law enforcement carried out an "operation" in the city.
Tourists in the Mexican seaside city of Puerto Vallarta were told not to leave their resort on Sunday as a government official warned of "clashes" in the area following a federal operation.
Photos and video shared with Fox News Digital capture billowing, dark smoke clouding the skyline of the city, which is located on Mexico’s Pacific Coast in the state of Jalisco.
Tourists at a local resort told Fox News Digital that they were urged to stay put at the resort. They said no reason for exercising the caution was immediately given.
By "urged" we can presume that it was essentially a politely phrased order, although, were one in Puerto Vallarta at the moment, it would seem to be a good time to start looking for an earlier flight home. The U.S. State Department has doubled down on the warning.
The U.S. State Department later issued a travel warning for multiple areas in Mexico on Sunday afternoon, urging U.S. citizens to shelter in place until further notice due to "ongoing security operations and related road blockages and criminal activity."
The travel warning was issued for parts of Jalisco state, including Puerto Vallarta, Chapala and Guadalajara; Tamaulipas state, including Reynosa and other municipalities; and areas of Michoacan state, Guerrero state and Nuevo Leon state.
Jalisco Gov. Pablo Lemus Navarro announced in a post on X that federal forces carried out an "operation" in the town of Tapalpa earlier Sunday, which led to "clashes" in the area.
An "operation" would imply that there was a major effort to scoop up cartel members, and "clashes" means it's snap-and-slash time at the zoo.
Read More: U.S. Joint Chiefs Call for a First-Ever Meeting of Western Hemisphere Military Leaders
The Open Source Intel X account has some alarming videos:
Jalisco, Mexico looks like a total war zone pic.twitter.com/qqg8wK3vIU
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) February 22, 2026
There are also some dramatic photos of what appear to be large fires.
@GeoConfirmed
— OSINTGlobal (@KJ_X23) February 22, 2026
🔴 SIGNIFICANT 🔴
Fires on a large street in Puerto Vallarta in Mexico amidst a sudden outbreak in cartel violence.
Location: Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
20.654894° N, 105.240239° W
20.656475° N, 105.240003° W
(Two locations for two fires) pic.twitter.com/iSLB8ujsJB
It's not clear whether it was a police-on-cartel operation that resulted in all this, but the cartels are certainly capable of this kind of mayhem. For that matter, not all of Mexico's police and military are on the up and up.
This is yet another illustration of a major problem the United States faces right now: We have, on our southern border, what is essentially a failed narco-state, where the cartels hold enormous power, and the government seems unable - or unwilling - to dislodge them.
Here's some unsolicited advice: If you were thinking of a Mexican resort location, you may want to reconsider those plans.
Editor’s Note: The American people overwhelmingly support President Trump’s law and order agenda.
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