Mexico’s most powerful organized crime group, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), suffered a major setback when the Mexican Navy captured one of its top commanders, Audias Flores Silva, known as “El Jardinero.”
Flores was considered a potential successor to cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, “El Mencho,” who was killed in a high-profile operation in February. The United States, which designated the CJNG a terrorist organization in 2025, had offered a $5 million reward for information leading to Flores’s arrest.
Authorities said the capture came after Mexican forces surrounded a cabin north of a resort city where Flores was hiding under the protection of about 30 pickup trucks and 60 armed men. The gunmen dispersed as a diversion, but ground and air tracking led security forces to Flores, who was found hiding in a roadside ditch. The Navy said the operation followed 19 months of monitoring and was carried out “with surgical precision without a single shot being fired.” Mexican officials said they also used intelligence provided by US authorities.
A Navy statement described Flores as “identified as one of the main generators of violence.” Carlos Olivo, a former DEA assistant special agent in charge and CJNG expert, called Flores “a significant figure,” saying his arrest “will have a bigger effect on CJNG operations than El Mencho being taken out.”
The arrest occurred amid ongoing violence linked to the CJNG since El Mencho’s death, which sparked a wave of attacks across Mexico — including business assaults, burned vehicles and blocked roads — that left more than 70 people dead, among them 25 National Guard members.
Videos shared by Mexico’s security minister, Omar García Harfuch, showed aerial surveillance and helicopters over the operation area. Later the same day authorities arrested another CJNG associate, Cesar Alejandro N., whom they described as a key money launderer for Flores.
Mexico has faced growing international scrutiny over its security situation as it prepares to co-host the 2026 FIFA World Cup with the United States and Canada. The US government under President Donald Trump had increased pressure on Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum to intensify efforts against organized crime; Sheinbaum has repeatedly rejected offers of US drone strikes or ground troops to fight cartels.
It is not yet clear whether Flores will face charges in Mexico or be extradited to the United States.
Edited by: Alex Berry