Canadian tourists were trapped inside a Mexican hotel Thursday when buses that were supposed to take them to an airport and their safe home burned outside.
"It's just chaos," said Tina Dahl of Edmonton, whose six family members stranded in the popular resort city of Mazatlan were supposed to fly out Thursday night.
The federal government advised Canadians in Mexico to limit their movements and seek refuge in a safe place because of violence in the western part of the country.
The violence began after a security operation early Thursday morning in which security forces captured suspected drug trafficker Ovidio "El Raton" Guzman, son of former cartel boss Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.
Ottawa said violence is particularly fierce in Culiacan, Mazatlan, Los Mochis and Guasave.
Canadian authorities said on Twitter that cars have been set on fire, guns have been fired and there is a threat to critical infrastructure, including airports. The Culiacan and Mazatlan airports were closed and all flights had been suspended at Los Mochis airport until further notice.
Jason Kung, spokesman for Global Affairs Canada, said Canadians should avoid all non-essential travel to various regions of Mexico due to high levels of violence and organized crime.