A ring of pickup trucks, a road marked by the constant passage of engines, and a rodeo arena in the middle of the mountains: it was there, on Monday, April 27, 2026, exactly 65 days after the death of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias El Mencho, that the escape of Audias Flores Silva, alias El Jardinero, came to an end.
When Navy helicopters flew over El Mirador, the ranch that had served as his stronghold in Nayarit for years, the drug lord tried to disappear under a drainage pipe. There were no shots fired. Only the image of a man who, after 19 months of being cornered, had run out of escape routes.
The deployment of hundreds of troops concluded with the capture of one of the possible successors to El Mencho, leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).
The video shows a rodeo event held at Rancho El Mirador, located in the mountains of Nayarit. An arena with horseback riders and spectators in the stands is visible, as well as a parking lot with multiple vehicles. In the background, a yellow building and mountains stand out. This ranch functioned as an isolated space with infrastructure for access control, movement, and security, where authorities located Audias Flores Silva, alias “El Jardinero” (The Gardener).
The ranch is located in the municipality of La Yesca, in an area far removed from any urban center and connected only by dirt roads. The access road is unique, winding, and without immediate branches, which allowed the drug lord to control entry and exit.
The ranch’s level of isolation is such that even Google Street View does not offer images near the property; only aerial and satellite images exist, despite a nearby highway.
The nearest community, El Trapiche, is 15 kilometers away. According to the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, Ixtlán del Río was considered “El Jardinero’s” main base of operations in Nayarit.
El Mirador is no ordinary ranch. From an aerial view, the property is organized around a residential core with at least three buildings with tile or painted sheet metal roofs, aligned around a large courtyard. This space would serve as a maneuvering area for vehicles, a meeting point, and a loading/unloading zone.
Images show that a large rectangular building is separate from the main core and may function as a storage area or stable.
Straight fences, similar to cattle corrals, can be seen to one side. A round structure, like a small rodeo arena, also stands out; several videos of events held there have been circulating on social media.
The ranch has an archway at the entrance, a large main building, and other facilities. The open areas are large enough for helicopters to land and for a fleet of 20 to 30 trucks to move around, according to official reports.
The ranch’s surroundings are completed with vegetation, scattered plots of land, and areas of scrubland. There are no visible large-scale fences, but the geography itself — hills, gaps and uneven terrain — acts as a natural barrier to isolate the property and make it difficult for strangers to arrive.
The arrest of “El Jardinero” was the result of a meticulously planned and executed operation following 19 months of surveillance and intelligence analysis by the federal Security Cabinet, in coordination with U.S. agencies.
The surveillance began in October 2024 and relied on field intelligence, intelligence gathering, and international cooperation. The security team conducted 100 hours of rehearsals on routes, access points, and potential escape routes, analyzing the geography and movement patterns of the target, as revealed by the head of the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC), Omar García Harfuch.
The final phase of the operation began after confirming the identity and location of Flores Silva, who was traveling in a suburban SUV from Santa María del Oro, Nayarit, approximately 90 kilometers from the point of capture.
For 48 hours, naval intelligence personnel tracked his movements by air until they were certain of the precise moment to act. When the marines surrounded the vehicle on the rugged terrain, Flores Silva tried to escape by hiding in a pipe under the road, but he was apprehended by the agents.
The operation lasted two hours in total, with no shots fired and no casualties. The detainee was transferred to Mexico City by air in less than half an hour.
Upon arrival in the capital, he was escorted by armed personnel from the Mexican Navy and the Criminal Investigation Agency. Images of his disembarkation, handcuffed and with his face covered, show him boarding a helicopter under strict guard at an airfield where air and ground vehicles were also deployed.
Audias Flores Silva was born on November 19, 1980, in Huetamo, Michoacán. He operated in Nayarit, Jalisco, Zacatecas, Guerrero, and Michoacán, and was also known by the aliases El Comandante, El Brado 2, El Audi, and El Mata Jefes. He had been imprisoned in the United States and was released in 2016. The United States offered a $5 million reward for information leading to his capture.
Flores Silva has a criminal record: in 2015, he was accused of orchestrating an ambush against police officers in Soyatlán, Jalisco. In November 2023, an operation in Zapoapan, Jalisco, attempted to capture him after an attack on officers in Teocaltiche, but was unsuccessful.
Beyond his role as the alleged successor to El Mencho, El Jardinero led a nationwide extortion network targeting truckers on the country’s main highways.
His logistical control encompassed key routes in Jalisco, Nayarit, Sinaloa, Durango, Zacatecas, Michoacán, Guerrero, Tlaxcala, and Puebla, disrupting the transport of goods and fuel.
In addition, he coordinated the trafficking of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and other drugs into the United States, and was involved in illegal fuel sales, kidnappings, homicides, arms trafficking, property theft, and extortion.
Today, the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) is seeking to charge him with violations of the Federal Law on Firearms and Explosives, as well as charges of criminal association, drug trafficking, and illegal possession of a firearm. He is also wanted for extradition by the District of Columbia in the United States.
Source: infobae
