Mexico arrested a senior underworld figure with a $5 million bounty on his head who was sought for crimes including drug trafficking and defrauding US pensioners.
Authorities say Audias Flores Silva is a member of the Jalisco Nueva Generacion cartel, one of Mexico’s most powerful criminal organizations, who oversaw operations in states along the Pacific coast.
The US Department of State offered a reward for his capture after he was identified as a regional commander for the cartel. He was captured in an operation by the Mexican navy, according to a social media post by the nation’s security minister on Monday.
Earlier this year, in the area where Flores Silva operated, authorities arrested the mayor of Tequila over an extortion racket that included an attempt to shake down Becle, the world’s oldest maker of tequila spirits. He was accused of committing crimes in collaboration with the cartel.
The US also accused Flores Silva of heading a timeshare fraud scheme that scammed older US citizens out of their savings. Nicknamed “the Gardener,” authorities suspect him of being a successor to Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, the cartel leader known as “El Mencho” killed in a high-profile Mexican operation in February.
The arrest on Monday “marks an important step against those who profit from fentanyl and drive violence in our communities. Actions like this are essential to ensuring that those who traffic drugs are held accountable,” wrote US Ambassador Ronald Johnson in a post on X.
Businesses were set on fire in parts of Nayarit state after the arrest, according to outlet N .
Mexican authorities located Flores Silva in a cabin in Nayarit, where his security protocol included more than 60 armed personnel, according to a joint statement from Mexico’s security, naval and defense ministries. The operation against him included 120 troops and an additional 400 members of the Navy in support roles, as well as helicopters and aircraft.
With assistance from Amy Stillman.
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