Canadian tourists remain barricaded in hotel amid Mexican cartel violence

Canadian tourists in Mexico remained barricaded in their hotel Friday amid violence in the streets after the arrest of a major alleged drug cartel leader.

“They’re safe in their hotel,” said Tina Dahl, an Edmonton woman with relatives stranded in the popular resort town of Mazatlan.

She said her six family members had been staying in their hotel rooms since Thursday afternoon and remained safe.

Several cities in the Mexican state of Sinaloa exploded into violence Thursday after the arrest of alleged drug trafficker Ovidio (The Mouse) Guzman, who is a son of former cartel boss Joaquin (El Chapo) Guzman. The violence is particularly fierce in Culiacan, Mazatlan, Los Mochis and Guasave.

Dahl’s brother, sister-in-law, their three children and her sister-in-law’s mother are all in Mazatlan. The children are ages 10, eight and seven.