A notorious cartel leader was captured by Mexican military forces as he tried to evade detection in a ditch.
Audias Flores Silva, known as “El Jardinero,” a regional commander of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), was captured on Monday (27 April), two months after the cartel's overall leader was killed.
Aerial footage released by the Mexican navy shows Silva being captured whilst hiding in a roadside ditch near the community of El Mirador in the state of Nayarit.
“The operation was carried out with surgical precision without a single shot being fired,” the navy said in a statement.
The United States had a $5 million reward for information leading to his arrest. His capture comes after 19 months of surveillance, and it involved more than 500 troops, six helicopters and several planes.
