Mexico deals second major blow to Jalisco New Generation Cartel in just two months
The capture of Audias Flores took place with no exchange of gunfire and with intelligence from US agencies, according to the official account
The Mexican Navy, so battered lately by the huachicol scandals—the rampant smuggling of stolen fuel—and the interoceanic train accident, has just scored a major point. In a remarkably precise operation, a special forces detachment arrested Audias Flores, aka “El Jardinero” (The Gardener), in Nayarit on Monday. Flores was a key member of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) leadership and a candidate to lead it after the death of its top boss, Nemesio Oseguera, in an Army operation in February.
The capture of “El Jardinero” occurred without a single shot being fired by either marines or criminals, according to a statement released by the Security Cabinet. This is no small matter, given the gunpower of both sides. More than 500 members of the Mexican Navy had deployed to the town of El Mirador, in the interior of Nayarit, very close to the border with Jalisco. It was there they had located Flores after tracking him for 19 months. The criminal leader, head of CJNG operations in Nayarit, with interests in Zacatecas and Jalisco, and tentacles reaching as far as Guerrero and Morelos, had more than 60 men with him.
In addition to uniformed personnel, the Navy received support from six helicopters and a drone, as well as intelligence from “U.S. agencies.” According to the statement, the “target’s bodyguards” fled in response to the deployment. A drone video of the operation, showcasing technology rarely seen in Mexico, shows the target from the air, with helicopters circling the cabin where he was holed up with his entourage. The camera zooms in on the area, revealing the Gardener’s legs as he attempts to escape or hide in a drainage ditch.
The operation contrasts sharply with the one launched by the Ministry of Defense in February against El Mencho. Back then, the criminal leader’s security team reacted violently to the military operation, which had located Oseguera in cabins in the municipality of Tapalpa, Jalisco. Dozens of people died—criminals, agents, and civilians who had nothing to do with the matter—both during the operation itself and in the criminal group’s subsequent reactions. Now, although the organization has reacted by burning vehicles and businesses in Nayarit, not a single death has been reported. At least not yet. The Army has, however, achieved a consolation prize with the peaceful arrest of El Jardinero’s accountant in Zapopan.
Beyond the smooth operation, Flores’ capture represents the second major blow to the CJNG leadership in just two months, following the downfall of El Mencho. All of this comes less than 50 days before the start of the World Cup, which will have Mexico as one of its host cities, particularly Guadalajara, a recreational hub for the criminal group and an urban economic network, along with Zapopan and other nearby municipalities, where the CJNG conceals its profits. After El Mencho’s fall, the question was how the power struggle would affect security in Jalisco and the surrounding states. Two months later, with El Jardinero’s arrest, the situation appears to have changed.
Flores was part of the unofficial shortlist for the succession of the criminal group. The other two candidates were Juan Carlos Valencia, Mencho’s stepson, and Gonzalo Mendoza, alias Sapo, manager of the criminal corridor that runs from Guadalajara to Puerto Vallarta. Given what had happened in the northwest, with the battles between factions of the Sinaloa Cartel after the fall of the old leaders, El Chapo Guzmán and Mayo Zambada, Mencho’s departure from the scene seemed to foreshadow a similar future. But for now, it remains an unfulfilled prophecy.
The fear surrounding the “Kingpin” strategy—decapitating criminal groups as the spearhead of security policy—has been widely seen as reckless. Mexico has witnessed its failure with Los Zetas, for example, as well as with the Beltrán Leyva cartel and La Familia Michoacana. The leaders fell, but their remnants thrived, more violent, better armed, and with their voracious appetite undiminished. Hence the doubts surrounding El Mencho, especially considering the precedent set in Sinaloa, which over the past year and a half has left a trail of death and devastation in the region.
The government maintains that its objective now transcends leaders, targeting the structures themselves. This explains why Security Cabinet spokesman Omar García Harfuch highlighted the capture of the Gardener’s accountant, whom he introduced as “Güero Compa.” The numbers seem to be adding up for the executive branch, at least on a macro scale. Murders continue to decline, including in Sinaloa, and the Security Cabinet is climbing the ladder of the country’s misfortunes, directly or indirectly, due to extortion, the search for missing persons, and criminal governance—all of which grip a large part of the country.
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