Judge Blocked His Lawyers’ Arrest Video: Mexican Appeals Court Voids Trial Order for CJNG’s ‘El Jardinero,’ Wanted in Washington on Drug and Money-Laundering Charges
A Mexican federal appeals court has thrown out the order sending Audias Flores Silva, “El Jardinero,” to trial on weapons charges. Flores Silva is an alleged commander of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and is wanted in Washington, D.C. The court found that the trial judge wrongly refused to let his lawyers show a video of his arrest in Nayarit, Semanario Zeta reported on Monday, Oct. 5, 2026.
What the appeals court decided
According to Zeta, the Second Collegiate Appeals Court of the Second Circuit, based in Toluca, ruled unanimously. It voided the May 4, 2026, order by a federal judge at the Almoloya de Juárez criminal justice center that put Flores Silva on trial for carrying a firearm and magazines reserved for the armed forces (case 167/2026).
The court did not rule on whether the charges are true. It ordered the initial hearing held again, this time letting the defense play the video. Zeta says the defense wanted to use the recording to challenge the official police report and show the arrest did not happen as the agents described. Some outlets described the ruling as a win “for lack of evidence,” but Zeta’s account describes a procedural violation, not a finding on the evidence.
The disputed arrest
The police report quoted by Zeta says agents of the federal ministerial police were flying over Nayarit at noon on April 27 when they saw a black pickup from which shots were apparently fired. It says Flores Silva got out and hid in a storm-drain pipe, and that agents found a handgun and magazines on him and a rifle three meters away. The defense says that account contradicts reports from Mexico’s Navy. Infobae reported in September that Navy special forces caught him in El Mirador, Nayarit, after 19 months of surveillance. Zeta describes him as still imprisoned at El Altiplano.
The U.S. case and a 45-year sentence
Infobae reported on Sept. 3 that a federal court in the District of Columbia has charged him with conspiring to distribute cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine, with firearms offenses and with money-laundering conspiracy. The U.S. had offered up to $5 million for information leading to his capture. Infobae also reported that Judge Alberto Ávila Muñoz granted a suspension that halts his extradition while his amparo challenge is decided.
OEM-Informex reported in May, via Julio Astillero’s site, that he also faces a re-arrest order on a 45-year sentence in Jalisco. That sentence covers homicide, attempted homicide and organized crime and is linked to the April 6, 2015, ambush in San Sebastián del Oeste that killed 15 Fuerza Única Jalisco police officers. He has not been convicted in the United States.
N+ report on the April arrest:
Sources
- Semanario Zeta (Redacción), “Tribunal de Apelación revoca vinculación a proceso contra el Jardinero,” Oct. 5, 2026
- Infobae (Juan Castillo), “Juez otorga medida que frena la extradición de El Jardinero a EEUU,” Sept. 3, 2026
- Julio Astillero / OEM-Informex (Román Ortega), “Vinculan a proceso a Audias N, El Jardinero,” May 5, 2026
- Video: N+ on YouTube
- Photos: Mexican government handouts (Semar/FGR), via Semanario Zeta
Reported Oct. 5, 2026, from Zeta’s account of the appeals ruling and earlier reporting by Infobae and OEM-Informex. The weapons charges are allegations; the hearing must be repeated, and no new date has been reported.