Usually known for its calm and hospitality, the resort town of Puerto Vallarta was plunged into horror last Saturday. A violent attack by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) threw vacationers, including many Quebecers, into an unprecedented climate of fear.

Waking up to explosions

For Claude Guérin and Guy L'Italien, their dream vacation turned into an action movie from their balcony. On Sunday morning, they witnessed a criminal roadblock: men on motorcycles set fire to several vehicles and a gas station near their residence.

"I heard a gunshot and a woman screaming. I saw cars exploding one after another," says Mr. Guérin, still in shock.

Trapped in a cloud of black, toxic smoke, they feared the worst, including the explosion of a tanker truck located very close to the blaze.

A feeling of security that goes up in smoke

There is widespread shock among expatriates and long-time travelers. For many, Puerto Vallarta was a sanctuary protected from cartel violence.

1. René Pichette , a Montreal resident caught in a café, recounts seeing someone throw a Molotov cocktail at a vehicle. He laments the complete lack of an emergency plan: "We didn't see any police or firefighters. It was the citizens who were trying to put out the fires."
2. Mario Ostiguy , a Granby regular for 28 winters, had never seen anything like it. For this Granby veteran, this incursion of organized crime into the tourist area is a game-changer: "It's something to think about carefully."

The anxiety of "what comes next"

Uncertainty reigns in the streets. Anne-Marie Picard , a real estate agent staying for two months, describes a paralyzed city where tourists, suitcases in hand, have to pass through the beach to avoid blocked roads.

Holed up in her condo, she expresses the concern shared by her compatriots: "We're in uncharted territory. Will the cartel continue all week?"

With the local economy relying entirely on tourism, these events are forcing many Quebecers to question their future return to what was, until now, their little Mexican paradise.