Iván Archivaldo, known as “El Chapito Mayor,” has already found a replacement for Jorge Humberto Figueroa, known as “La Perris,” the third security chief he has lost in less than two years. The replacement is a 45-year-old man from Michoacán who, at the same time, is protecting another drug lord.
He is Audias Flores Silva, better known as “El Jardinero,” who is also in charge of keeping federal forces away from Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, “El Mencho,” founder and leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).
Who is El Jardinero?
The dual role of El Jardinero—a sadistic bodyguard who helped the cartel begin its expansion across the country through Michoacán, Guerrero, Nayarit, and Zacatecas—is part of the agreement reached between the two criminal leaders to strengthen the Los Menores faction (the sons of Joaquín El Chapo Guzmán) in their war against La Mayiza.
In exchange, El Chapo Guzmán’s two freed sons—Iván Archivaldo and Jesús Alfredo—will share their drug, weapons, and undocumented migrant trafficking routes with the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel, consolidating its position as the first criminal group to have a presence in all 32 states of the country.
Both groups have been tasked with promoting Audias Flores Silva’s dual position on social media: dozens of accounts on X, TikTok, and Instagram work every day to coin the phrase “The Garden Blooms in the Sinaloa Mountains,” a reference to the nickname of Los Chapitos’ new guardian.
A VIP Bodyguard
Social media is filled with images and videos confirming the alliance between Los Chapitos and Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes’s gang: from the image of a tactical vest with the initials CJNG-IAG (Jalisco New Generation Cartel-Iván Archivaldo Guzmán).
To a video featuring dozens of armed men shouting the names of the duo as their new bosses. Photos, ballads, and even memes speak of the new “supercartel.”
