By Laura Gottesdiener and Ana Isabel Martinez
MONTERREY, Mexico, April 27 (Reuters) - Mexican special forces have arrested Audias Flores, known as “El Jardinero,” one of the top commanders of the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel, in the western state of Nayarit, security minister Omar Garcia Harfuch said on Monday.
Flores - a regional commander in control of swathes of Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) territory along Mexico’s Pacific coast - was considered a potential successor to Nemesio Oseguera, alias “El Mencho”, who ran the cartel and was killed in a security operation in February.
“He’s a significant figure,” said Carlos Olivo, a former U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration assistant special agent in charge and a CJNG expert. His arrest “will have a bigger effect on CJNG operations than Mencho being taken out.”
Garcia Harfuch said on X that the arrest followed a Mexican arrest warrant and charges in the United States. “He’s also wanted by U.S. authorities for extradition. The U.S. government had offered a $5 million reward for his capture,” Garcia Harfuch posted.
The U.S. Treasury Department had identified Flores as a “significant foreign narcotics trafficker” and said in 2021 a U.S. grand jury had charged him with conspiracy to distribute cocaine and heroin, among other crimes.
The arrest marks the latest blow to Mexican drug cartels after El Mencho’s killing - a personal mission for Garcia Harfuch, who had blamed El Mencho for a 2020 assassination attempt that left two of his bodyguards dead.
Flores was among several top regional leaders who security analysts believed could be well placed to take over control of the cartel.
Mexico’s security situation is facing tight scrutiny as the country prepares to co-host the FIFA World Cup this summer alongside the U.S. and Canada.
(Reporting by Laura Gottesdiener and Ana Isabel Martinez; Writing by Sarah Morland; Editing by Daina Beth Solomon and Bill Berkrot)
