Top drug cartel leader ‘El Jardinero’ and his alleged money man nabbed in Mexico
· Toronto Sun
Mexican authorities have dealt the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), the country’s most powerful criminal enterprise, another blow after it arrested one of its top leaders.
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Audias Flores Silva — also known as “El Jardinero,” or The Gardener — is a regional commander in control of swaths of CJNG territory along Mexico’s Pacific coast.
He was also considered to be the potential successor to Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, a.k.a. “El Mencho,” who ran the drug cartel until he was killed during a February shootout as the Mexican military attempted to capture him.
Flores Silva was hiding in a ditch near the community of El Mirador in the state of Nayarit, about 20 kilometres north of Puerto Vallarta, when Mexican special forces caught up to him, according to a press release on Monday from Mexico’s navy, which led the operation.
Flores’ associates scattered as a diversion, but the regional commander was soon located as he tried to hide in a drainage ditch.
No one was killed or injured during his arrest, according to Mexico’s government.
“The operation was carried out with surgical precision without a single shot being fired,” the navy said in a statement on X .
Omar García Harfuch, Mexico’s security minister, shared photos and video on X, including aerial footage of the arrest as helicopters hovered overhead during the operation.
https://t.co/vFnD3unieL pic.twitter.com/q8Gj4zxLVH
— Omar H Garcia Harfuch (@OHarfuch) April 27, 2026
Flores Silva’s capture marked another blow to a criminal enterprise, as he was not only the head of security for Oseguera Cervantes, but he also helped lead the cartel’s drug production and trafficking operations in the states of Nayarit, Jalisco, Mexico State, and Zacatecas.
Mexican authorities also announced the arrest of Cesar Alejandro “N”, nicknamed “El Guero Conta,” an alleged money launderer for Flores Silva.
A number of cars and businesses were burned by cartel gunmen following his arrest, according to local news outlets.
El día de hoy en Zapopan, Jalisco, Fuerzas Especiales del Ejército Mexicano y de la Guardia Nacional @Defensamx1 detuvieron a César Alejandro N, alias “El Güero Conta”, identificado como operador financiero de Audias Flores Silva, alias “El Jardinero”, jefe regional del CJNG.… pic.twitter.com/ZHUC4ob22s
— Omar H Garcia Harfuch (@OHarfuch) April 28, 2026
U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson lauded the arrest as an “important step” in combating those who profit from fentanyl trafficking.
“Actions like this strengthen security and help dismantle criminal networks that threaten our communities,” he added in an X post . “Together, we achieve results that make our nations safer.”
Following El Mencho’s death in February, cartel members unleashed a wave of violence across 20 Mexican states, destroying businesses, setting vehicles ablaze, and blocking roads, in separate attacks that killed more than 70 people, including 25 National Guard members.
Despite the deadly violence, Oseguera Cervantes’ killing was seen as a victory for Mexico’s government at a time when Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has been cracking down on cartels in an effort to offset threats of intervention by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Last year, Trump designated the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and five other Mexican cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.
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 operate in 19 states.
Some analysts believe the CJNG’s presence extends to 25 states, with a stronghold in Jalisco. The cartel’s operations have also spread to around 100 countries, including the United States.
Since 2021, the U.S. has requested Flores Silva’s extradition to face charges of drug conspiracy and firearms possession.
—With files from The Associated Press