The CJNG Handed Over El Jardinero

Audias Flores Silva—known as “El Jardinero” (The Gardener)—one of the top commanders of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and a potential successor to the cartel’s supreme leader, Rubén (and/or Nemesio) Oseguera Cervantes, alias “El Mencho,” was reportedly handed over to authorities for becoming a hindrance to the criminal organization itself. At least, that is one of the prevailing theories regarding his capture on April 27 in Nayarit by operatives of the Mexican Navy (SEMAR).

Sandoval appeared to be one of the leading candidates to succeed El Mencho; however, the criminal group reportedly opted instead for a familial succession in the person of Juan Carlos Valencia González—known as “El 03” or “El JP”—the son of Rosalinda González Valencia, Oseguera’s widow. This decision was apparently not well received by El Jardinero, who had spent several decades operating on behalf of the “Cuinis” clan, dating back to their days as members of the Millennium Cartel in Michoacán.

While this was unfolding in Mexico, in San Diego, United States, the alleged Guatemalan drug lord Eugenio Darío Molina-López—alias “Don Darío”—was arrested. He is accused of leading a transnational criminal organization known as “Los Huistas” and is linked to the CJNG. Meanwhile, in Colombia, local drug trafficker Johan Alberto Gutiérrez Alonso—alias “Dans”—was arrested; he is alleged to have served as a key strategic liaison between the Jalisco Cartel in Mexico and drug trafficking groups in South America.

Regarding the arrest of the high-profile CJNG capo known as “El Jardinero” (The Gardener) or “Señor de las Flores” (Lord of the Flowers)—the organization’s regional boss for Nayarit and Zacatecas—the operation was successfully executed despite the fact that his security detail consisted of more than 60 armed individuals and at least 30 vehicles at the time of the raid by the Marines. The Marines had spent 19 months tracking the target through a combination of field and desk-based intelligence operations, aided by the collaboration of U.S. security agencies, which provided support through information sharing.

The arrest finally materialized after a near-miss in late 2023, when “El Jardinero” narrowly escaped capture in the municipality of Zapopan, leaving a task force—coordinated by various federal police and military institutions—empty-handed. The capture took place in El Mirador, in the state of Nayarit, and involved the deployment of Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft, four close-support helicopters, two troop-transport helicopters, four fixed-wing aircraft, 120 direct-action troops, and 400 naval personnel in support roles.

Audias Flores—for whom the U.S. government had offered a $5 million reward for information leading to his location, capture, and conviction—was the subject of an active arrest warrant in Mexico and was being sought by U.S. authorities for provisional detention pending extradition. 

With this loss, the CJNG will restructure the clan within the states that were under Flores Silva’s control; as of yet, no successor has been named, although—as has historically been the case following other arrests—the cartel typically rotates some of its key figures and paves the way for the rise of emerging “plaza bosses.” To date—two months after the death of “El Mencho”—other prominent CJNG leaders remain at large, including Hugo Gonzalo Mendoza Gaytán (“El Sapo” or “El 90”), Ricardo Ruiz Velazco (“El Doble R” or “El Tripa”), and Heraclio Guerrero Martínez (“El Tío Lako”).

HOW THE CAPTURE UNFOLDED

On April 27, 2025, the Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection, Omar García Harfuch, reported that the capture of Audias Flores Silva had taken place just hours earlier near the community of El Mirador, in the municipality of La Yesca, Nayarit. The capture occurred when an operation—comprising 120 direct-action personnel and 400 naval support troops—arrived at the location where they had detected the presence of “El Jardinero.” He was left isolated after being abandoned by his bodyguards, who fled without a single shot being fired at the scene; this latter circumstance reinforces the theory that it was the criminal organization itself that “turned in” this high-ranking commander in that region of the country.

Flores Silva was discovered by his captors inside a drainage pipe—a fact demonstrated by García Harfuch through one of several videos documenting the military deployment. Despite the surgical precision of the operation in the targeted zone, the drug trafficker’s arrest triggered a wave of road blockades and business arsons across various parts of Nayarit, particularly in the municipality of Tecuala, where residents reported active gunfights. Authorities confirmed that several convenience stores and supermarkets were set ablaze in that area, which is situated near the state border with Sinaloa. On Federal Highway 15, a car was torched, while in the Uzeta area—south of Tepic—a semi-truck was reduced to ashes.

The Tecuala Municipal Government urged the population to remain indoors until security authorities could confirm that the situation had been brought under control. Meanwhile, the Uzeta Municipal Government suspended its annual patron saint festivities as a preventive measure to avoid exposing residents to acts of violence. Meanwhile, in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco—which borders Nayarit—security was reinforced around the Ixtapa regional detention center, which houses members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. Additionally, security measures were heightened at other strategic locations that had been severely impacted on February 22 during the capture and subsequent killing of “El Mencho” in the municipality of Tapalpa.

Following his arrest, Audias Flores was taken into custody by federal forces that very night—at 8:00 p.m.—and brought to the headquarters of the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime (FEMDO), a division of the Attorney General’s Office (FGR), in Mexico City. This transfer took place after he was flown from Nayarit aboard a Navy aircraft and subsequently transported from the capital’s international airport to the ministerial facility via a helicopter belonging to the same branch, under escort by agents from the Navy (SEMAR), the FGR’s Criminal Investigation Agency (AIC), and the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection.

The U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, Ronald Johnson, commended the courage and precision demonstrated by the Secretariat of the Navy during the operation, characterizing the event as another severe blow to the CJNG. Through his social media channels, Johnson stated that this marks a significant step in the fight against fentanyl and violence in both Mexico and the United States. “When we act with determination, we achieve results that make our nations safer under the leadership of President Donald Trump and President Claudia Sheinbaum,” the diplomatic representative asserted.

THE PROFILE OF “EL JARDINERO”

Audias Flores Silva is 45 years old and hails from Huetamo, located in the Tierra Caliente region of Michoacán. Known as “El Jardinero” (The Gardener), he also uses the alias Gabriel Raigosa Plascencia, as well as the nicknames “Audi,” “Bravo 2,” “Comandante,” and “El Mata Jefes” (The Boss Killer). He has been identified as a member of criminal groups in that state for at least two decades, having previously been affiliated with the Valencia clan—also known as the Millennium Cartel—an organization that served as a predecessor to the CJNG. He is also linked to the González Valencia brothers—better known as “Los Cuinis”—who serve as the organization’s financial operators and hold ownership of the criminal brand.

“El Jardinero” worked closely with—and enjoyed the absolute trust of—Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, for whom he served as head of security. Operating across territories in Jalisco, Michoacán, Nayarit, and Zacatecas, he was appointed as the regional boss for the latter two territories in the mid-2010s. In Nayarit, he collaborated closely with Gonzalo Gaytán—known as “El Sapo”—who was based in Jalisco; this collaboration was facilitated by the proximity and shared borders between the municipalities of Puerto Vallarta (Jalisco) and Bahía de Banderas (Nayarit). In July 2016, he was arrested in the latter municipality in Nayarit, as there were several outstanding arrest warrants against him. In Mexico, he was accused of orchestrating a narco terrorist attack against members of the Jalisco State Police’s *Fuerza Única* (Unified Force), who were ambushed on a mountain road in the municipality of San Sebastián del Oeste—near Puerto Vallarta—while traveling in several patrol cars. The hitmen opened fire on the armored units, which withstood the initial impacts; however, the criminals then threw grenades and set the vehicles ablaze, forcing the officers to exit the vehicles, whereupon they were gunned down. The attack resulted in a death toll of 15 police officers and left at least another ten seriously wounded.

According to information released following his initial arrest in 2016 by the then-Federal Police (PF), Flores Silva was responsible for leading, coordinating, and facilitating the production, transport, and sale of synthetic drugs within the state of Nayarit.

“He is also involved in the illegal theft of fuel,” the police agency detailed. For its part, the U.S. government asserts that “El Jardinero” controlled methamphetamine laboratories, aircraft, and clandestine airstrips throughout western Mexico. Furthermore, he oversaw tractor-trailers used to transport cocaine from Central America into Mexico, as well as passenger vehicles used to distribute narcotics to CJNG cells located in California, Texas, Illinois, Georgia, Washington, and Virginia.

Despite these allegations—and despite being held in a maximum-security penitentiary—Audias regained his freedom in 2019 after being found not criminally liable in the various cases pending against him. It was not until August 2020 that the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia identified him as an alleged co-conspirator in a plot to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, and one kilogram or more of heroin, intended for importation into the United States. He was also charged with the possession and use of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.

ESCAPED IN 2023

Almost two and a half years ago, authorities came close to apprehending Audias Flores Silva when personnel from Mexico’s Secretariat of the Navy spearheaded an operation in Cima Park—one of the most exclusive areas of Zapopan—in search of the high-ranking leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). Flores Silva managed to evade the official deployment carried out on November 22 and 23, 2023. Members of Naval Intelligence, coordinating with Special Operations agents of the Mexican Navy, entered the residential complex aboard ten vehicles and instructed workers and residents to evacuate the area.

Although Flores Silva wasn’t located—having apparently escaped during the authorities’ raid on the tower where he was staying—naval personnel did rescue an individual who was being held against their will. Within the exclusive residential complex, “El Jardinero” (The Gardener) maintained the guise of a businessman and art collector; from there, he would travel to neighboring states to conduct his criminal operations, which included kidnapping and extortion.

In recent years, various events have provided authorities in both countries with intelligence aiding in the capo’s location. In November 2022, Jesús Miguel Flores Silva—El Jardinero’s brother—was murdered alongside his partner in Mazatlán, Sinaloa. On December 14 of that same year, the Armed Forces arrested Jaime Rene N.—known as “El Borrego” or “El 05″—in the city of Tepic; he was a close associate of Audias. During the latter half of August 2025, a joint operation spanning three states (Jalisco, the State of Mexico, and Nayarit) resulted in the capture of 14 cartel members following raids on 16 properties; these individuals were linked to the organization’s top ringleaders, including Flores Silva.

On January 12, 2026, federal agents from the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) arrested four members of the CJNG across Nayarit and Jalisco; two of the detainees were regional operatives serving directly under the command of El Jardinero. Luis Ignacio Cárdenas, 46, was apprehended; he has been identified as the Tepic-based coordinator for the trafficking of drugs—originating in Central America—into the United States. Also arrested were José Gabriel Soto, 26—known as “El Uber”—the leader of a criminal cell and a key instigator of violence in the city of Zapopan, along with his associates, Mauricio Cruz Arzola and Carlos Alberto Quezada Ceja.

FOREIGN NATIONALS INVOLVED

Guatemalan drug trafficker Eugenio Darío Molina López—known as “Don Darío”—was also apprehended. Since 2022, the U.S. Department of State has offered a $10 million reward for his capture; he is accused of serving as the leader of the transnational criminal organization known as Los Huistas.

Los Huistas is a drug trafficking organization based primarily in the Huehuetenango region of northwestern Guatemala—which borders Mexico—and is involved in a massive cocaine trafficking operation. Molina López was indicted as part of “Operation Unidad Guerrilla,” a multi-year investigation led by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the HSI attaché office in Guatemala City, Guatemala, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in San Diego.

The investigation focused on Molina López, Los Huistas, and their suppliers. High-level cocaine traffickers were the targets of a massive investigation spanning multiple countries, involving numerous U.S. law enforcement agencies and several federal districts. This kingpin allegedly served as a liaison and facilitator for the Mexican cartel, the CJNG. In the United States, he faces charges outlined in an indictment filed on January 29, 2019, for conspiracy to distribute cocaine with the intent to illegally import it, and conspiracy to distribute cocaine aboard a vessel.

In Colombia, Johan Alberto Gutiérrez Alonso—alias “Dans” or “El Gordo”—was arrested on April 22. Operating in the Bogotá, Cali, and Jamundí areas, he allegedly coordinated the logistics for the purchase, commercialization, and shipment of cocaine hydrochloride to the United States on behalf of the CJNG, according to Colombian and U.S. authorities. He is also alleged to be the ringleader of a network that laundered assets for a Mexican cartel, utilizing cryptocurrencies, human couriers, and front companies in sectors such as the automotive and real estate industries in Medellín.

Dans is identified as an “invisible narco” who maintained ties with Iván Mordisco and Mexican drug traffickers; consequently, he is wanted by U.S. courts on charges of drug trafficking, money laundering, and criminal conspiracy. At the time of his apprehension, authorities seized a safe containing one billion Colombian pesos, and asset forfeiture proceedings were initiated regarding 27 properties valued at over 20 billion pesos.

Source: Zeta Tijuana