MANTEO, Nc. — Monday, tension remained high in Mexico after a drug cartel leader was killed over the weekend.
The U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Mexico encouraged Americans in the country to shelter in place.
Watch: 'Surreal sight to see': US tourist describes chaotic scenes in Mexico amid cartel violence
“When we first heard about it, it was a thousand miles away so it didn’t impact us very much," Manteo resident Connie Rose said.
That may have been changing Monday, though, for Rose and Bettie Kellogg. They’re vacationing near Playa del Carmen.
“I just heard about that there were some cars put on fire about five miles outside of Playa del Carmen," Kellogg said, recalling what she had heard at a yoga class Monday morning.
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Video over the weekend showed vehicle fires have been happening in parts of Mexico because of the cartel leader's death.
But perhaps the biggest impact all this was having on Rose and Kellogg was their friend wasn’t able to vacation with them. She was supposed to get in Monday.
“She can’t get a flight in here at all," said Rose.
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News 3 asked Rose and Kellogg if they were worried they wouldn't be able to get a flight back home when their vacation is over.
“Not really," said Kellogg.
“Not yet. Not yet, because we’re flying out on Saturday. So hopefully, things will die down," Rose said.
Watch: Trump declares drug cartels operating in Caribbean unlawful combatants
As for future vacations, they said what was happening wouldn’t keep them away.
“I’ve had a timeshare here twenty-some years and I’ve been coming many, many years and I just love it," said Kellogg.
