Members of the Mexican Army stand guard outside the Recinto de la Paz cemetery in Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico, in early March where Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho,” leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, was buried in a gold coffin under a massive military and police presence. File Photo by Francisco Guasco/EPA
The Mexican government said alleged drug cartel leader Audias Flores Silva, known as “El Jardinero,” has been apprehended in that state of Nayarit on the central Pacific coast.
The arrest came two months after the capture and death of the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho, Flores Silva was considered a successor.
Flores Silva was arrested in an operation “planned, developed and executed” by the Navy, according to a post on X by the secretary of Security and Citizen Protection, Omar García Harfuch.
He confirmed that and arrest warrant for Flores Silva was issued in Mexico, and he also is wanted in the United States.
The Navy said the operation occurred Monday in the El Mirador area, in the state of Nayarit, where special forces surrounded a cabin about 12 1/2 miles north of Puerto Vallarta.
En una operación planeada, desarrollada y ejecutada por la Secretaría de Marina @SEMAR_mx , a través de sus Fuerzas Especiales, fue detenido en Nayarit Audias Flores Silva, alias “El Jardinero”.
Cuenta con orden de aprehensión en México y también es requerido por autoridades de… pic.twitter.com/5jqtX53Rzn— Omar H Garcia Harfuch (@OHarfuch) April 27, 2026
According to the report, the area was protected by a perimeter of approximately 30 trucks and more than 60 armed men.
Mexican authorities and judicial records in the United States saidthat Flores Silva was considered a key operator of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, the country’s most powerful criminal enterprise, on the Pacific coast and one of the possible successors within the organization.
According to the official account, Flores Silva’s escorts dispersed as a distraction maneuver, which allowed federal forces to locate him as he tried to hide in a ditch on the side of the road. He was transported by helicopter after his capture.
“The operation was carried out with surgical precision without a single shot being fired,” the Secretariat of the Navy said in its statement.
The Security Cabinet indicated that after the arrest, an operation in Nayarit contained possible violence by the criminal group.
Authorities reported six vehicles and six businesses set on fire, with no injuries or fatalities, and ruled out road blockades or a widespread suspension of activities in the area.
El Jardinero, 45, was also identified by the U.S. Department of the Treasury as a “significant foreign narcotics trafficker,” with a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to his capture.
He has faced charges in U.S. courts since 2021 for conspiracy to distribute cocaine and heroin, among other crimes.
The U.S. ambassador to Mexico, Ronald Johnson, said the arrest “marks an important step against those who profit from fentanyl and drive violence in our communities” and highlighted bilateral cooperation on security.
The arrest of Audias Flores-Silva, “El Jardinero,” a key leader of the violent CJNG, marks an important step against those who profit from fentanyl and drive violence in our communities. Actions like this are essential to ensuring that those who traffic drugs are held… pic.twitter.com/E6hrg62uMT— Embajador Ronald Johnson (@USAmbMex) April 27, 2026
“Actions like this are essential to ensuring that those who traffic drugs are held accountable,” he said, recognizing the work of the Security Cabinet and the Navy.
Experts contacted by the BBC and The Guardian said Flores Silva was a high-level figure within the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.
Carlos Olivo, a former Drug Enforcement Administration agent and a specialist on the cartel, said his capture “will have a greater impact on the operations of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel than the removal of El Mencho,” according to The Guardian.
Drug lord El Mencho died after a shootout with Mexican and U.S. forces during an operation in Tapalpa, Mexico, on Feb. 22. He was the founder and leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.
President Donald Trump recently said Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum committed to intensifying the fight against drug trafficking.
In the fight against fentanyl trafficking and organized crime, Sheinbaum and Trump have held nearly 20 conversations since October 2024, and Washington has increased pressure to expand efforts against cartels.
This rapprochement has generated internal tensions in Mexico, where political sectors question the scope of cooperation with the United States in a balance between security, sovereignty and economic stability.
