American family stranded in Mexico after violence erupts following death of cartel leader

TEXAS - Several Americans are stranded in Mexico after violence erupted following the death of a top cartel leader.

One man says his family was supposed to be on a relaxing family vacation when it quickly turned to a fight to get home safely.

What they're saying:

"I had more confidence that I was probably going to die than I was that we were going to live," said TJ Johnson, who is stuck in Mexico.

For American TJ Johnson, this year’s annual family vacation brought them to Puerto Vallarta.

"I was having coffee on the terrace here behind me and in the hills. But, we started to see some smoke and that was unusual because we hadn't seen anything like that the entire time that we were here, but it was also weird because there were multiple locations where smoke was starting to come up," said Johnson.

This all happened the same day authorities had confirmed "El Mencho," the leader of one of the largest Narco terrorist cartels in the country, had been killed during a military operation. The White House says the U.S. provided intelligence support. 

In the hours that followed, the cartel responded to its leader's death with widespread violence. Vehicles were set on fire and blocked highways.

"It was almost like you were on a Universal Studios ride, if that makes any sense, but also feeling like you're probably not, you might not live," said Johnson.

Johnson and his family packed up and headed to the airport, trying to get out of the situation.

"We turned onto a road that was typically very busy, and it was not, it was very odd, there was no traffic. There was nothing. And then you went down a little further, kind of turning as we're headed to the airport and burning buses and burning taxis. There was also a burning part of the back end of a semi-truck," said Johnson.

They made it to the airport but then more chaos followed.

"Within a matter of 15 to 20 minutes, the alarms went off and all the airport employees started running and telling us to run. And so, we all ran out of the side of the airport onto the tarmac about a mile or half a mile away. And we waited there for about 30 minutes until we were given the go ahead to come back," said Johnson.

Johnson says he and hundreds of others spent the night at the airport waiting for answers. Despite everything, he still loves the area and hopes to return one day.

"We're not going to let that persuade our thoughts about doing this again next year. I would come back to Puerto Vallarta. I would feel very safe here. I love the people, I love the experience. It was so worth it," said Johnson.

Texas Senator John Cornyn and Representative Chip Roy are urging Texans in Mexico to contact the U.S. State Department and enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program.

Governor Greg Abbott has ordered the state department of public safety to increase its security along the southern border with Mexico.