Audias Flores Silva: Mexican army captures prime Jalisco cartel chief in main blow to highly effective drug trafficking gang | EUROtoday

The Mexican army has captured one of many prime leaders of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, the nation’s strongest felony enterprise.

The Monday seize of Audias Flores Silva, also called “El Jardinero” or The Gardener, comes two months after the cartel’s chief was killed.

The United States had a $5 million reward out for info resulting in his arrest.

The CJNG regional commander was captured whereas he was hiding in a roadside ditch close to the group of El Mirador within the state of Nayarit, Mexican officers mentioned Monday.

No one was killed or injured throughout his arrest, in response to Mexico’s authorities.

Flores Silva was seen as a potential successor to Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, or “El Mencho,” who was killed in a dramatic army operation in February.

The killing of “El Mencho” led to a surge of cartel violence with a wave of assaults on companies by cartel gunmen, car burnings and highway blockades that killed greater than 70 individuals, together with 25 National Guard members.

Despite the violence, Oseguera Cervantes’ killing was seen as a victory for Mexico’s authorities at a time when Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum is cracking down on cartels with a heavier hand than her predecessors in an effort to offset threats of intervention by U.S. President Donald Trump.

In 2025, Trump designated the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and 5 different Mexican cartels as overseas terrorist organizations.

Flores Silva’s seize marked one other blow to a felony enterprise that has rapidly turn out to be some of the highly effective within the hemisphere. According to Mexican safety officers, he was the top of safety for Oseguera Cervantes, and helped lead the cartel’s drug manufacturing and trafficking operations within the states of Nayarit, Jalisco, Mexico State, and Zacatecas.

Local information organizations in Nayarit reported that a lot of vehicles and companies have been burned following his arrest.

The seize was praised by U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson, who mentioned in a submit on X that Flores Silva’s arrest marks an “important step” in combating those that revenue from fentanyl trafficking.

“Actions like this strengthen security and help dismantle criminal networks that threaten our communities. Together, we achieve results that make our nations safer,” he added.

At a younger age, Flores Silva was arrested within the U.S., the place he served a five-year sentence for drug trafficking earlier than returning to Mexico after his launch. In 2016, he was arrested by Mexican authorities for his alleged participation in an ambush in opposition to police in Jalisco and was launched three years later.

Since 2021, the U.S. has requested Flores Silva’s extradition to face costs of drug conspiracy and firearms possession.

For Mexican safety analyst David Saucedo, the arrest of Flores Silva represents a “significant blow” to the CJNG management, which was nonetheless within the strategy of reorganizing after the loss of life of its chief and founder on Feb. 22.

Saucedo instructed The Associated Press, nonetheless, that felony teams “can quickly reinvent themselves despite the arrest of their leaders,” and that even after they undergo main blows, “they can continue” their felony actions.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency has acknowledged CJNG’s presence in 21 of Mexico’s 32 states, surpassing the Sinaloa Cartel, which is estimated to function in 19 states.

Some analysts consider the CJNG’s presence extends to 25 states, with a stronghold in Jalisco. The cartel’s operations have additionally unfold to round 100 international locations, together with the United States.