The top leader of the Jalisco cartel with a $5 million bounty on his head has been caught hiding in a hole in Mexico.

I Jalisco New Generation CartelMexico’s most powerful criminal organization, suffered another blow on Monday when the Mexican military captured one of its top leaders in the northwest of the country, two months after the organization’s leader was killed.

Audias Flores Silva, known as “El Jardinero,” or the Gardener, was identified as a potential replacement for the slain leader and the United States offered a $5 million reward for information leading to his arrest.

A CJNG regional commander was caught hiding in a roadside ditch near the community of El Mirador in Nayarit state, Mexican officials said Monday. No one was killed or injured during the arrest, according to the Mexican government.

The Security Secretary, Omar Garcia Harfuch, posted a video on social media showing a man coming out of a hole while being taken into custody.

Harfuch said the kidnapped man is “wanted by US authorities for extradition.”

The Mexican military said surveillance planes, six helicopters, four planes and more than 100 ground troops were involved in the operation.

Flores Silva was seen as a possible replacement for Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, or “El Mencho,” who was killed in a brutal battle in February. The killing of “El Mencho” led to an escalation of violence accompanied by attacks on businesses by the group’s gunmen, burning of cars and roadblocks that killed more than 70 people, including 25 members of the National Guard.

Despite the violence, the killing of Oseguera Cervantes was seen as a victory for the Mexican government as Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum cracked down on cartels with a heavier hand than her predecessors in an effort to quell threats of intervention by US President Donald Trump.

Last year, Mr. Trump designated the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and five other Mexican cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.

Flores Silva’s capture marked another blow to a criminal enterprise that has quickly become one of the most powerful in the world. According to Mexican security officials, he was the head of security at Oseguera Cervantes, and helped lead a drug production and trafficking company in the states of Nayarit, Jalisco, Mexico State, and Zacatecas.

Local news organizations in Nayarit reported that many cars and businesses were set on fire following his arrest.

The arrest was praised by US Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson, who said on the X website that the arrest of Flores Silva marks an “important step” in the fight against those who profit from fentanyl trafficking.

“Actions like this strengthen security and help dismantle criminal networks that threaten our communities. Together, we achieve results that make our countries safer,” he added.

As a child, Flores Silva was arrested in the US, where he served five years for drug trafficking before returning to Mexico after his release. In 2016, he was arrested by Mexican authorities for allegedly participating in a police ambush in Jalisco and released three years later.

As of 2021, the US has requested that Flores Silva be extradited to face charges of conspiracy and gun possession.

For Mexican security analyst David Saucedo, the arrest of Flores Silva represents a “big blow” to the leadership of the CJNG, which is still in the process of restructuring after the death of its leader and founder on February 22.

Saucedo told the Associated Press, that gangs “can quickly rebuild themselves despite the arrest of their leaders,” and that even if they face major setbacks, they can “continue” their criminal activities.

The US Drug Enforcement Agency has acknowledged the CJNG’s presence in 21 of Mexico’s 32 states, surpassing the Sinaloa Cartel, which is estimated to operate in 19 states.

Some analysts believe that the CJNG’s presence extends to 25 states, with a strong base in Jalisco. The cartel’s operations have spread to nearly 100 countries, including the United States.

The crime boss’s capture prompts a blockade near the US border

Earlier, the government of the northeastern state of Tamaulipas reported the arrest of Alexander “N,” a member of a gang operating near the US-Mexico border.

His kidnapping sparked at least eight highway blockades by gangs on highways around the border town of Reynosa.

A spokesman for the security forces in Tamaulipas said that the authorities regained control, and said that no one was injured during the attack.

Mexican media have identified the criminal as Alexander Benavides Flores, or “R9,” the head of Los Metros.

Metro is one of the Gulf Cartel groups, which have weakened in the last ten years following the capture of their leaders.

The city of Reynosa has a population of 690,000 and sits across the river from McAllen, Texas.