Photos show burned-out cars, empty streets, and airport chaos in Mexico after a major cartel leader was killed
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Vehicles were set alight in Puerto Vallarta as violence broke out following the killing of cartel leader "El Mencho."
@morelifediares via Instagram/Yo/Reuters
Violence broke out across Mexico on Sunday after a top cartel leader was killed.
Photos show burned-out buses, roadblocks, and a heavy Mexican military presence on the streets.
The US warned its citizens in Mexico to shelter in place.
Popular tourist sites in Mexico were caught up in a wave of violence on Sunday following a security operation that killed a powerful drug lord.
Members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, an organized criminal group, set fire to businesses and torched vehicles across the country in retaliation for the death of their leader, Nemesio "El Mencho" Oseguera Cervantes.
The violence was heaviest in Jalisco, the home of the cartel and the state where "El Mencho" was killed, but the Mexican Security Cabinet said it had set up more than 250 roadblocks across 20 Mexican states on Sunday.
In a press conference on Monday morning, Claudia Sheinbaum, the Mexican President, said the situation had de-escalated, and all roadblocks had been cleared.
The violence has caused ongoing travel disruption, and most domestic and international flights in Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta were canceled on Sunday.
Keep scrolling to see photos of the aftermath of the violence across several parts of the country.
Firefighters work to extinguish flames on a torched bus in Puerto Vallarta
Firefighters work to extinguish flames on buses set on fire by members of organized crime following a military operation in which Mexican officials said cartel boss Nemesio Oseguera, "El Mencho," was killed, at a tourist area, in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, February 22, 2026
Stringer/Reuters
Smoke billows from burning vehicles blocking a highway in Puerto Vallarta
Smoke billows from burning vehicles in Puerto Vallarta on Sunday.
@morelifediares via Instagram/Youtube/@morelifediares via REUTERS
Smoke rising over Puerto Vallarta in the state of Jalisco, where "El Mencho" was killed in custody
A general view over Puerto Vallarta as smoke rises.
@morelifediares via Instagram/Youtube/via REUTERS
Tourists watch a column of smoke in Puerto Vallarta
Tourists watch a column of smoke after members of organized crime carried out roadblocks and burned down some businesses following a military operation
Stringer/Reuters
Passengers wait in line at Guadalajara International Airport on Sunday
Passengers wait in line at Guadalajara International Airport following flight suspensions and lack of transport in Tlajomulco, Jalisco State, Mexico, on February 22, 2026.
Ulises Ruiz / AFP via Getty Images
People sat in crowded halls waiting for news of their flights
Ulises Ruiz / AFP via Getty Images
Military personnel stood on guard outside Guadalajara airport on Sunday
Military personnel stand on guard outside Guadalajara airport.
Ulises Ruiz / AFP via Getty Images
A burned-out store targeted during the wave of retaliatory violence in Zapopan, a town in central Jalisco
A general view of a burnt and closed entrance of a store on February 22, 2026 in Zapopan, Mexico. Road blockades and vehicle burnings have been reported in several parts of Mexico since early morning. The Secretariat of National Defense of Mexico has confirmed that during a security operation in Tapalpa, Jalisco, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as 'El Mencho' leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel was killed, along with four other members
Carlos Zepeda/Getty Images
An empty street in Zapopan. The government of Jalisco declared a code red on Sunday and suspended public transport
An empty street after a wave of blockades and attacks on businesses by members of organized crime following a military operation in which Mexican officials said cartel boss Nemesio Oseguera, "El Mencho," was killed, at a tourist area, in Zapopan, Mexico, February 22, 2026.
Gabriel Trujillo/REUTERS
Burned cars and trucks on a highway in Jalisco
Burned cars and trucks, allegedly set on fire by organised crime groups in response to the operation to arrest a high-priority security target, on a highway near Acatlan de Juarez, Jalisco state, Mexico on February 22, 2026. The Mexican army announced that it had killed powerful drug lord Nemesio "El Mencho" Oseguera in an operation that sparked a wave of violence in various parts of the country on February 22, 2026. Gunmen retaliating for the raid blocked more than 20 roads in western Jalisco state, which includes Tapalpa, with burning cars and trucks. The violence spread to other states as well.
Ulises RUIZ / AFP via Getty Images
The Mexican National Guard stationed outside the Attorney General's office in Mexico City
Members of the special units of the National Guard and the Secretaria de Seguridad Ciudadana stand guard in front of the Fiscalia General de la Republica, where the investigation into the operation in which Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes,
Félix Márquez/picture alliance via Getty Images
Tourists leave the port area after boat services were cancelled in Acapulco, another popular tourist destination in Mexico
Tourists leave the port area after boat services were cancelled in Acapulco, Mexico on February 22, 2026, after a wave of violence in various parts of the country.
Francisco ROBLES / AFP via Getty Images
Members of the Mexican National Guard walk past people while on patrol in Acapulco on Sunday
Members of the National Guard walk past people while on patrol, after authorities reinforced security following roadblocks and arson attacks carried out by organised crime in several states, in the aftermath of a military operation in which a government source said Mexican drug lord Nemesio Oseguera, known as "El Mencho," was killed in Jalisco state, in Acapulco, Mexico,
Henry Romero/Reuters
Mexican soldiers walk past a torched bus in Acapulco
Soldiers walk past a bus torched by unknown assailants, following roadblocks and arson attacks carried out by members of organized crime in several states after a military operation in which a government source said Mexican drug lord Nemesio Oseguera, known as "El Mencho," was killed in Jalisco state, in Acapulco, Mexico,
Javier Verdin/Reuters
Satellite imagery shows cars on fire along a coastal road in Puerto Vallarta
Cars on fire along a coastal road in Puerto Vallarta on Sunday.
