'We don't know what's going to happen': B.C. woman waiting out cartel violence in Mexico

A Victoria woman who is vacationing in the Mexican resort city of Mazatlan says an uneasy calm has fallen over the city following an explosion of street violence after the arrest of an alleged drug cartel leader.

"Today is very different from yesterday," Meredith Brown, who has been in the coastal Sinaloa city for about a month, told CTV News on Friday.

Deadly fighting broke out Thursday between Sinaloa drug cartel members and Mexican authorities after the arrest of alleged drug trafficker Ovidio Guzman, who is a son of former cartel boss Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.

Brown described the eerie mood in the city Thursday night as reminiscent of the earliest days of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions back home in British Columbia.

"It was dead silent," she said. "People were taking it very seriously that they needed to be indoors. Buses weren’t running. All of the shops and whatnot were closed."

Meredith Brown described the eerie mood in Mazatlan on Thursday night as reminiscent of the earliest days of pandemic restrictions back home in British Columbia.

'THE CARTEL IS MAKING A STATEMENT'

The Canadian government advised Canadians in Mexico to shelter in place, avoid crowds, and not to try to cross blockades, even if they appear unmanned.

WestJet said it had cancelled two flights in and out of Mazatlan on Friday while Air Canada said none of its flights were affected by the unrest.

On Thursday, at least two passenger airplanes were hit by gunfire.

Brown said she watched as large fires burned Thursday night near the Mazatlan International Airport.

"Definitely the cartel is making a statement," the Victoria resident said.

"There is a sense now that we have a bit of a reprieve," she added. "We don't know what's going to happen though in the next 48 hours or so."

The fighting came days before Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador was to host Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Joe Biden at a summit in Mexico City.

A spokeswoman from Trudeau's office told The Canadian Press the prime minister's plans for the summit hadn't changed.

An attempt to arrest Ovidio Guzman also led to violence three years ago. An aborted operation to capture him set off violence that ultimately led the Mexican president to order the military to let him go.

With files from The Canadian Press