Shelter-in-place in Puerto Vallarta, man with Utah ties watches cartel from his house

SALT LAKE CITY — A man with Utah ties is still under a shelter-in-place order in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, after cars and shops in his neighborhood were set on fire by cartel members. Jay Baer said Monday was quiet, almost normal compared to what he saw on Sunday right outside his front door. “Cartel members, mostly teenagers on motorcycles with guns, were riding up and down the streets, burning additional cars," Baer said. Baer points behind him in the Zoom interview with KSL. It was right outside that door that he watched his neighbor's car burn. “I saw them stop, pull the driver out, put the gas in, light it and then drive away," Baer said. Cars across the city were set on fire as part of what Baer called two separate phases of coordinated attacks across 20 Mexican states, all in response to Mexican cartel leader El Mencho's death. “This is a sign from the cartel that you can’t hold them down," Baer said. No people were specifically targeted, Baer said, just buildings, cars, institutions and organizations. But people were always removed first, Baer said, before the cartel set them ablaze. Baer still wonders if there will be a third phase, or if everything will go back to business as usual. “We’re monitoring it very closely," Baer said. "If there is a phase three, we’ll get out of here.” Puerto Vallarta has been a vacation destination for Baer and his wife for 30 years. In 2025, the couple traveled 12 times to Mexico and bought a second home, where Baer was when the cartel set the city on fire. "It's one of the most magical cities in the Americas," Baer said. "This is the first time I've seen people with guns in front of our house." Guns, plumes of smoke and buildings on fire. "We just watched it burn because there was nothing we could do," Baer said. The smoke in the city soon became an air quality problem. Baer said they had to lock up the house and put towels under the door and window frames to keep the smoke out. Baer believes the shelter-in-place order will be lifted within the next day or so.

Related: Logan woman stranded in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico after cartel unrest

Related topics