At least eight Chicagoans were sheltering in place in Puerto Vallarta on Sunday amid violent attacks throughout the region in response to the capture and death of the Mexican cartel leader known as “El Mencho.”
Zoom in: Lakeview resident Jonathan Pizer tells Axios that he and his husband Brad Lippitz were heading to go whale watching with two Chicago friends Sunday morning when their car was stopped.
- “All of a sudden, this guy came running towards our car with a gun, banged on my window, pointing the gun at me, and told us to get out of the car in Spanish,” says Pizer, the district community liaison for U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley.
- The man took the car, blocked the road, “threw something in the car, and the car exploded. … Then there was gunfire. We started running. … They started pulling people out of more cars and trucks. … They went on a city bus and started shooting and setting everything on fire.”
Context: Pizer and Lippitz, a prominent Chicago real estate agent, bought a condo in Puerto Vallarta five years ago.
- The town is typically considered one of the safest in Mexico, and Pizer says this is the first time they have experienced any crime in the area, “but obviously this changes the equation.”
The big picture: The attack emerged amid of a wave of violent incidents across Western Mexico Sunday in apparent retaliation for the capture of the Jalisco cartel leader Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho.”
- The State Department urged American tourists in Puerto Vallarta, Cancun, Tulum and elsewhere Sunday to shelter in place.
- Several flights that were supposed to arrive or leave airports in the area were canceled or diverted despite government reports that the airports are open.
The latest: Pizer made it back to his condo safely Sunday afternoon, but “because the streets are still not safe and there are fires everywhere,” Lippitz remained sheltered at an orphanage with another Chicago friend as of Sunday night…