Why Are Americans Still Flying to Mexican Resorts Despite Cartel Violence?
A viral video about a surprisingly quiet flight to Mexico is prompting fresh questions about how travelers weigh safety concerns against the allure of sun-soaked resorts.
On TikTok, user hanna_juge shared a video showing her "empty" flight to Cancun, Mexico, amid ongoing concerns about cartel violence across parts of the country. The clip, viewed 3.3 million times within two days, centers on confusion over an unusually vacant flight to Mexico, prompting debate on the platform about travel safety at a time when parts of the country have faced security alerts.
"Not sure if this is a good or bad thing, our flight to Cancun is empty," text overlaying the footage remarks, as it showed the creator and her friend with empty rows on the plane.
While some contributors in the TikTok comments section described being in Mexico during heightened security alerts, others criticized what they saw as insensitive behavior for humor about travel disruptions. "This is so out of touch, no matter if it’s on the opposite side of the country, making a joke about confusion over an empty flight when the country is in crisis and people are getting hurt is just beyond me," a critic declared.
A pundit warned about the unpredictability of international travel during unrest: "It's all fun and games till you can't leave."
The video comes amid ongoing violence in different parts of Mexico, including Puerto Vallarta, a resort town in the state of Jalisco. Attacks linked to the fallout from the killing of Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, better known as "El Mencho," led to the death of 25 National Guard members, as well as others across the state of Jalisco.
Meanwhile, Newsweek detailed how the U.S. had lifted a shelter-in-place order for its citizens in Mexico. The U.S. mission in Mexico said in a statement on Tuesday that American citizens were no longer urged to shelter in place. Flights from Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta have returned to normal, the statement added.
Another TikTok video shared by user weightlossassisted this week explained how he researched tourism numbers before deciding whether to proceed with a planned Cancun vacation. The user claimed there are, "over 300,000 tourists," in the Cancun area at any given time, describing it as, "a huge amount of people there," with a, "very low rate of incidents happening." After weighing the information, the man said they plan to move forward with the trip, leaving Sunday and returning Friday to, "enjoy some warm weather."
Newsweek has reached out to hanna_juge and weightlossassisted for comment via TikTok. We could not verify the details of the case.
