Cartels Torched Buses and Paralyzed Puerto Vallarta; City Begins Reopening

Cartel violence that had paralysed Puerto Vallarta left streets littered with charred buses and burned convenience stores before authorities and businesses began reopening the city.

“PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico (KWTX) - Public transportation began to resume in Puerto Vallarta on Tuesday, with residents seen waiting in long lines for city buses and cars, including taxis, returning to the road following days of cartel violence that paralyzed the city”

Anadolu Agency

Both KWTX and Anadolu Agency report that public transportation and taxis started returning to service on Tuesday after days of unrest, though rideshare services such as Uber remained unavailable.

Anadolu Agency

Videos circulating showed buses, trucks and cars used as roadblocks being removed.

The incidents prompted immediate concern for public safety and disrupted the city’s high-season tourism flow.

Visible damage included charred buses and other vehicles used as makeshift roadblocks, and widespread burning of local OXXO convenience stores.

Video and reports show heavy damage along key thoroughfares.

KWTX

Both outlets report tow trucks were removing torched buses, trucks and cars from the streets.

Those removals confirm the scale of the unrest and the use of physical barrier tactics during the attacks.

Restaurants and parts of the tourism corridor began to reopen, though streets remained quieter than normal.

“PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico (KWTX) - Public transportation began to resume in Puerto Vallarta on Tuesday, with residents seen waiting in long lines for city buses and cars, including taxis, returning to the road following days of cartel violence that paralyzed the city”

Anadolu Agency

Pipis, La Palapa, the Iguana at Casa Kimberly and Margarita Grill were cited as among the establishments reopening.

Flights also resumed in a limited fashion.

Thousands of tourists stayed stranded in rentals and resorts because full services had not returned.

Local reporting highlighted public concern about safety and the economic fallout.

Local business owners voiced concerns about the economic damage to a city that depends heavily on tourism.

Both sources cite Jalisco Tourism Secretariat figures showing Puerto Vallarta’s airport handled more than 3.8 million travelers in the first half of 2025.

KWTX

The figures show international visitors contributed nearly $1.4 billion, about a 10% increase over 2024, underscoring the stakes of the disruption.

Overall, the two sources offer closely aligned accounts.

“PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico (KWTX) - Public transportation began to resume in Puerto Vallarta on Tuesday, with residents seen waiting in long lines for city buses and cars, including taxis, returning to the road following days of cartel violence that paralyzed the city”

Anadolu Agency

Both report the violence and visible destruction, including charred buses and burned OXXOs.

Anadolu Agency

Both report the partial resumption of transport and flights and the continued absence of rideshare services.

Both report the reopening of several restaurants, tourists stranded, and the Jalisco Tourism Secretariat’s figures.

The main differences are minor wording choices and levels of reported certainty.

For example, KWTX’s 'apparently used as roadblocks' versus Anadolu’s 'reportedly used to block roads' illustrates those wording differences.