Within hours of the killing of Mexican drug lord Nemesio Oseguera, better known as 'El Mencho', in a military raid, gunmen suspected to be his supporters blocked highways across several states and set cars and businesses ablaze.
In some towns tourists and residents were urged to stay indoors, while truckers were advised to take safe routes or return to their depots until the violence abated.
Several airlines, including Air Canada, United Airlines and Aeromexico, on Sunday cancelled flights to Puerto Vallarta, a beachside resort town where stunned tourists filmed plumes of smoke rising into the sky from fires.
US authorities contributed information as part of bilateral co-operation and had offered a reward of $US15 million ($A21 million) for the 59-year-old.
In the Mexican underworld, he was known as 'Lord of the Roosters' because of his fondness for cockfighting.
The burst of violence across more than half a dozen states painted a familiar scene for Mexicans who have spent two decades watching successive governments wage war on drug cartels, ravaging broad swathes of the country.
Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum in a social media post acknowledged the violence, but struck a tone of calm.
"In most of the national territory activities are happening with absolute normalcy," she said.
A member of Oseguera's Jalisco New Generation Cartel told Reuters that the blazes and sporadic gunfire were carried out in revenge for the government's killing of Oseguera, and warned of further bloodshed as groups move to take control of his cartel.
“The attacks were carried out in revenge for the leader’s death, at first against the government and out of discontent," the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"But later the internal killings are coming, by the groups moving in to take over."
In Mexico’s Pacific coast, a five-hour drive from the military operation in the town of Tapalpa that took down the leader of the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel, stunned beachgoers on a pier in Puerto Vallarta took out their mobile phones to film thick waves of smoke obscuring blue ocean views, showed a video shared with Reuters.
Daniel Drolet, a Canadian who has wintered in Puerto Vallarta for years, said he was concerned of a new era of violence taking root in the typically placid resort zone.
"I have never seen anything like this before," he said.
US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, writing on X, congratulated Mexico for killing "one of the bloodiest and most ruthless drug kingpins".
"This is a great development for Mexico, the US, Latin America, and the world. The good guys are stronger than the bad guys."
In the state of Jalisco, authorities reported that gunmen had attacked a base for the National Guard military police, and recommended guests remain inside hotels and suspended public transit.
A trucking industry group said in a statement it was "profoundly worried" by the highway violence and recommended that truckers keep to safe areas or return to their operating yards until conditions improved.
The state of Guanajuato, a CJNG stronghold, reported 55 incidents across 23 municipalities, with 18 arrests, but said by evening all incidents were under control.
Authorities have not reported any casualties beyond several cartel members and officials killed during the military operation.
Previous cartel arrests and killings have led to outbreaks of violence - whether by members avenging their fallen leader or rival gangs muscling in on their territory - prompting Mexican authorities to hesitate before launching major campaigns.
with dpa
