Terrifying way ultra rich Americans were smuggled out of cartel hell
Ultra-wealthy Americans were forced to flee by boat after one of Mexico’s top tourist destinations descended into chaos following the killing of notorious cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes.
Visitors to Puerto Vallarta scrambled to escape via the ocean after the city’s airport shut down and cartel-enforced roadblocks appeared across the state of Jalisco earlier this week.
Sources told the California Post that some travelers hired heavily armed security teams or mercenaries to escort them to ports, where they chartered boats to Cabo San Lucas before catching flights back to the United States. Violence erupted after Mexican special forces killed Oseguera Cervantes, also known as “El Mencho,” in an early morning raid on Sunday.
Puerto Vallarta, a normally bustling resort city, became the center of the upheaval, with burned-out vehicles blocking streets and tourists confined to hotels.
A security insider with experience in Mexico said the extraction business is booming and intensified this week due to the unrest.
“A lot of people make money getting others out,” the source told the Post. “The main exit route was a pipeline ferrying people from Puerto Vallarta to Cabo, then onto private flights. Most of the clients were high-net-worth individuals with family down there—ex-wives, kids on timeshares—or people with ties to U.S. politics.”
The insider added, “It’s lucrative but risky. Federal law now regulates this. If you’re caught without the proper paperwork or carrying weapons illegally, you face federal custody. Mexico has become the Wild West. Security extractions are a full-blown business, and it’s thriving. The joke is, the American dream isn’t in Florida anymore—it’s in Mexico.”
Cartel roadblocks across Jalisco made operations particularly hazardous. “It’s ‘spicy’ heading into town,” the source said. “There were two roadblocks, not the military—they’re out in force. Cartels aren’t just men on trucks; they’re also embedded in police and military ranks.”
Oseguera Cervantes was tracked after intelligence agencies followed one of his romantic partners to his secluded resort compound. She eventually left, but he and his men remained until Mexican special forces moved in for the raid.
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