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With the Jalisco New Generation cartel in Mexico causing violent destruction across the Puerto Vallarta area, many American tourists remain stranded due to canceled flights and closed airports.
Not far north is the posh area of Punta Mita - home to luxury resorts such as the Four Seasons and the Ritz-Carlton.
Wendee Puccetti of Wisconsin told Fox News Digital she and her husband were supposed to leave Mexico on Sunday after a week-long vacation.
RESCUE TEAM HEADING TO MEXICO TO FREE AMERICAN TOURISTS TRAPPED AMID CARTEL VIOLENCE
"We were checking out, and we walked up to the bellman, and he said, 'No one's [leaving], you can't drive anywhere. There are no vehicles. The airport shut down.' So that was the first we heard of it - [Sunday] at like 10 a.m.," said Puccetti.
She added, "From here, you wouldn't have any idea that there's anything going on."
Puccetti said she had booked her trip with a vacation package agency, and so far has received only an email notice from the organization.
She said the group sent a link to a portal with flight options - the first one showing Friday - but cannot book through the platform.
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Puccetti was able to extend her stay at her current hotel, and said she's standing by - sheltering in place - until she's able to find the next flight out.
"The hotel's really empty," she said. "I think a lot of people that were supposed to be here were on those flights that either turned around and went back, or were diverted to other cities," she said.
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Puccetti said the hotel is operating as business as usual but scaled back its operations yesterday, with two out of the 14 restaurants open for service.
"I just feel bad for the people that live and work here," she said.
"There is a woman that has been helping us out all week. She's got a five-year-old boy. He was at a Sunday school yesterday, and you could just tell she was so worried about him," said Puccetti.
She added, "They don't want that whole cartel stigma associated with this area because it's never happened here before."
Puccetti did a lot of research prior to her trip, she said, determining Puerto Vallarta to be generally safe and the Punta Mita region known for being very safe.
"I mean, you could say [it's dangerous] going downtown to parts of Chicago or New York City, or whatever," said Puccetti.
"I don't have any regrets about coming here," she added. "It's unfortunate that it happened the way it did."
Crisis response group Grey Bull Rescue, based in Florida, has launched operation "Condor Reach" to help Americans trapped in Mexico evacuate.
The veteran-led nonprofit founder, Bryan Stern, a multiple-tour combat veteran, told Fox News Digital the operation in Mexico is "war-zone level" and nuanced - with team members deployed on Monday.
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"Because the cartels are a business as much as they are an army, the violence is entirely in their control. The Mexican army is not going to be able to really defeat the cartels," said Stern.
"They've been around for many, many, many years."
