My family winters in Puerto Vallarta and we're leaving early due to the cartel violence. We'll come back as soon as we can.

Courtesy of Matthew Breen

• Matthew Breen is a podcast producer and talent manager who lives between New York and Mexico.
• He's been wintering in Puerto Vallarta for a few years and says the recent violence is unprecedented.
• They were planning to stay a few more weeks, but they've rebooked their flights to leave ASAP.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Matthew Breen, a 51-year-old podcast producer and talent manager based in New York who's currently in Puerto Vallarta.