A man the US was willing to pay $5 million to catch was found hiding in a ditch. Mexican authorities on Monday arrested Audias Flores Silva, a senior commander in the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), after he emerged from a roadside ditch near El Mirador in the state of Nayarit, per CBS News. Authorities shared video appearing to show Flores Silva, known as "El Jardinero" or "The Gardener," hiding in a large cement drainage pipe as troops closed in, per the BBC. Officials say the operation to arrest the man wanted by US authorities for extradition on drug and firearms charges involved four aircraft, six helicopters, and hundreds of soldiers, and ended without injuries. Mexico's navy said not a single shot was fired, per the Guardian.
Flores Silva was considered a possible successor to CJNG founder Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, or "El Mencho," killed in a February military raid that set off deadly retaliatory attacks. He had served as El Mencho's head of security and right-hand man, per CBS and the BBC. Local outlets reported cars and businesses burned after his arrest. Analysts say his capture is a serious setback for a cartel with global reach, though such groups tend to regroup quickly. The US ambassador to Mexico called the capture an "important step" against fentanyl trafficking. Also Monday, authorities arrested a money launderer for Flores Silva, identified as César Alejandro "N" or "El Güero Conta," and Alexander "R9" Benavides Flores, the leader of the Gulf Cartel faction Los Metros in Tamaulipas state, the Guardian reports.
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