The Mexican military has arrested Audias Flores Silva, also known as 'El Jardinero', a senior leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), in a roadside ditch near the community of El Mirador in the state of Nayarit. No injuries or deaths were reported during the operation.
Flores Silva was considered a potential successor to Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, 'El Mencho', the cartel's leader killed in a military operation in February. His death sparked a wave of violence, including arson attacks and blockades that killed more than 70 people, among them 25 National Guard members.
The United States had offered a $5 million reward for information leading to Flores Silva's arrest. He faces US charges of drug conspiracy and firearms possession, and Washington has sought his extradition since 2021. Flores Silva previously served a five-year sentence in the US for drug trafficking and was later arrested in Mexico in 2016 for an ambush on police, before being released in 2019.
Mexican security analyst David Saucedo described the capture as a 'significant blow' to the CJNG, which is still reorganising after losing its founder. However, he warned that criminal groups often 'reinvent themselves' despite leadership arrests. The CJNG is now present in at least 21 of Mexico's 32 states, with some estimates suggesting operations in 25, and has expanded to around 100 countries.
US Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson praised the arrest on social media, calling it an 'important step' in combating fentanyl trafficking. The operation marks another victory for President Claudia Sheinbaum's crackdown on cartels, which has intensified amid threats of US intervention under President Donald Trump, who designated the CJNG as a foreign terrorist organisation in 2025.
