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Tourists walk by the wreckage of a burnt bus in Mexico, after violence erupted across the country following the killing of cartel boss ‘El Mencho.’Alfonso Lepe/Reuters
Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said Canadians travelling to Mexico should remain cautious even as violence has subsided following the killing of a cartel leader.
Before heading into a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Ms. Anand said it’s important for Canadians in Mexico to heed the advice of local authorities.
She said the situation in Mexico is becoming more stable, with Canadian airlines resuming flights to part of the country that were affected when criminal groups set up roadblocks and burned vehicles on Sunday.
What to know about Canada’s travel advisory in Mexico and flight cancellations amid violent unrest
“The volatility and the instability differs throughout the country in different regions,” Ms. Anand told journalists.
“The long and the short of it is the situation is becoming more normalized. We should continue to see this trajectory unfolding. The situation needs to be closely monitored as we are doing with our consular officials on the ground in Mexico.”
Thousands of Canadians remained stranded in Mexico on Tuesday after widespread violence rocked a number of states and disrupted air travel in response to Mexican forces on Sunday killed Nemesio (El Mencho) Oseguera Cervantes, the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel,
He was killed in the Mexican state of Jalisco – where the popular tourist destination Puerto Vallarta is located – and a violent anti-government backlash by cartel members spread to other parts of the country.
Ms. Anand also urged Canadians in Mexico to register with Global Affairs Canada, a measure she has said allows for passing along up-to-date advice.
As of Tuesday morning, 55,000 Canadians have registered, she said. That’s up from the 26,305 she reported on Monday.
Canadian travellers who responded to a Globe and Mail callout this week complained about difficulties getting through the Global Affairs registration system.
Ms. Anand said Canadians intent on travelling to Mexico need to be mindful that the situation in the country is evolving every day.
The minister said she has been asked about this by several MPs, including those who have families who may be travelling or considering travel plans for next week.
“I would advise, and our government advises, to examine the situation on a day-to-day basis,” she said.
“The trajectory toward normalization looks positive, and we hope to see further normalization as the week progresses,” she said.
On Tuesday, Air Canada said that it was operating three return flights to Puerto Vallarta from Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver to bring back about 1,000 customers whose flights were cancelled on Sunday and Monday owing to the unrest.
As Canadian flights in and out of Mexico resume, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand says the situation is very volatile but appears to be normalizing after violence erupted in the multiple regions over the weekend. The minister says Canadians should follow the advice of local authorities.
The Canadian Press
For the Toronto and Montreal flights, the carrier said in a statement that it was using wide-body Boeing 787 Dreamliners that are larger than the aircraft generally used on the routes. The Dreamliners would provide 258 extra seats, Air Canada said.
“Our intent is to continue operating flights with larger aircraft over the coming days until affected customers have all had the opportunity to travel, although we will monitor and adjust our capacity as required,” said the statement issued by Isabelle Provost.
WestJet said in a statement posted on its website on Tuesday that its priority is accommodating travellers originally scheduled to return to Canada on Sunday and Monday.
It said it had added additional flights but did not provide any additional details.
Air Transat and Porter Airlines also announced they were resuming flights to and from Puerto Vallarta on Tuesday.
Flair Airlines said in a statement it plans to restore service to Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara starting Wednesday.
With a report from The Canadian Press
Editor’s note: The map accompanying this article has been updated to correct the placement of Baja California Sur, Guerrero and Guanajuato.
