Audias Flores Silva, alias “El Jardinero” (The Gardener), was arrested in Nayarit. He is identified as one of the possible successors to Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, “El Mencho.”
The arrest was announced by Omar García Harfuch on April 27. The official noted that the captured individual, considered one of the leaders of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), is wanted by authorities in both Mexico and the United States, the latter for extradition purposes.
“The U.S. government offered a reward of $5 million for his capture,” García Harfuch wrote on his social media accounts.
The arrest of “El Jardinero” was the result of operations carried out by members of the Special Forces of the Mexican Navy (Semar).
The arrest of Audias Flores Silva comes weeks after the operation in Jalisco that resulted in the death of “El Mencho,” the leader of the cartel also known as the four-letter cartel.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) indicates that the man goes by the aliases Commandante, Gabriel Raigosa Plascencia, El Bravo 2, Audi, and Mata Jefes.
The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Audias Flores in April 2021. He is identified as one of the CJNG’s regional commanders, responsible for various areas in the country.
El Jardinero operated in Nayarit, Jalisco, Zacatecas, Michoacán, and Guerrero, according to U.S. authorities.
El Jardinero, one of the pillars of the CJNG. (Treasury Department)
He is also accused of commanding a significant number of operatives, who are linked to acts of violence against law enforcement and rival cartel members.
“Silva Flores controls clandestine laboratories in central Jalisco and southern Zacatecas, used to produce methamphetamine and other illicit drugs,” reads a sanctions document dated June 2025.
Furthermore, information from the U.S. Treasury Department indicates that the recently captured man was a close associate of El Mencho.
El Jardinero (The Gardener) was also linked to the control of clandestine airstrips, as well as small planes, cargo trucks, and passenger vehicles used to traffic cocaine, heroin, and other drugs from Central America to Mexico.
After being brought into Mexico, the substances were subsequently distributed among cells in the U.S., in places like California, Texas, Illinois, Georgia, Washington, and Virginia.
Flores Silva faces a formal indictment in the U.S. dated August 13, 2020, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
He is accused of conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and one kilogram or more of heroin for importation into the United States, as well as carrying, using, and possessing a firearm in connection with a drug offense.
Source: infobae
