U.S. Grand Jury Adds Meth Trafficking and Money Laundering Charges Against Alleged Jalisco Cartel Leader Audias Flores Silva

U.S. federal grand jury on Thursday expanded charges against Audias Flores Silva, the second-in-command of Mexico's Jalisco New Generation Cartel, accusing him of methamphetamine trafficking and conspiracy to launder money. Flores Silva, 45 and known by the alias El Jardinero or The Gardener, was arrested on April 27 in the western state of Nayarit.

Members of Mexican Special Forces escorted him in the western state of Nayarit, Mexico, in a handout distributed on April 27, 2026. U.S. agencies.

He was captured while hiding in a roadside ditch. Security Secretary Omar Garcia Harfuch posted video on social media appearing to show a man emerging from a hole in the ground as he is being taken into custody. Mexican authorities identified Flores Silva as a possible successor to leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known by the alias El Mencho.

Flores Silva had served as Oseguera Cervantes' head of security, according to Mexican authorities. He later assumed control of some of the cartel's operations in the states of Nayarit, Jalisco, Mexico and Zacatecas, overseeing drug production and trafficking as well as the operation of clandestine laboratories. He is also linked to fuel theft and extortion.

Flores Silva was originally charged with trafficking cocaine and heroin in an August 2020 indictment. U.S. had offered a $5 million reward for information leading to his arrest. If convicted, Audias Flores Silva could face between 10 years and life in prison.

Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes was killed in February in the western state of Jalisco in an army operation. The killing of El Mencho led to a surge of cartel violence with a wave of attacks on businesses by cartel gunmen, vehicle burnings and road blockades that killed more than 70 people, including 25 National Guard members.

DEA Administrator Terrance Cole said in a statement Thursday, "Jardinero believed he would assume control of the violent foreign terrorist organization CJNG following the death of El Mencho.

U.S. in February along with seven other criminal groups. The CJNG is considered the largest cartel in Mexico, with a presence in 21 of Mexico's 32 states.

U.S. officials.