The Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection of Mexico, Omar García Harfuch, announced this Monday, April 27, the arrest of Audias Flores Silva, alias “El Jardinero”, identified by US authorities as one of the leaders of the Jalisco New Generation cartel (CJNG), for whom a reward of US$5 million was offered.
The arrest occurred in the state of Nayarit (west), in a region with a strong presence of the CJNG, two months after the death in a military operation of the capo Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias “El Mencho”, who was considered his possible successor.
García Harfuch explained that the detainee has an arrest warrant in Mexico and is required by United States authorities for extradition purposes.
“For his capture, the US government offered a reward of 5 million dollars,” he mentioned in a brief message on his X account.
The operation was “planned, developed and executed” by personnel from the Ministry of the Navy (Semar), the official said.
In April 2021, the US Government announced sanctions against Flores Silva, whom it identified as one of the regional leaders of the CJNG.
Flores Silva, 45, has also been designated as head of security for Oseguera Cervantes, according to media reports that cite the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA, in English).
The US Treasury Department then claimed that it controlled large areas of the Mexican Pacific, including Nayarit, and accused it of trafficking large quantities of opiates and cocaine.
He was also charged in the US with conspiracy to distribute cocaine and heroin, as well as firearms offences.
Subsequently, in June 2025, “El Jardinero” was once again included in a package of sanctions against senior officers of the CJNG, where he was linked to the operation of clandestine methamphetamine laboratories.
Last February, after the death of “El Mencho”, founder of the CJNG, specialists identified the now detained man as part of a group of leaders who remained at the head of the cartel.
Mexican authorities indicated that the arrest occurred after 19 months of monitoring and intelligence work, as well as the exchange of information with US agencies.
They also highlighted that Flores Silva has an extradition order for the crime of criminal association against health and carrying a firearm, requested by the United States, and has a 2024 re-arrest order for homicide.
Mexican security agencies indicated that it is known that the now detained man “controlled methamphetamine laboratories, clandestine airstrips, small planes, cargo trucks and passenger vehicles to transport cocaine, heroin” and other drugs from Central America to Mexico and later to distribution cells in several states in the United States, such as California, Texas, Illinois, Georgia, Washington and Virginia.
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