Mexico’s military arrested a top cartel leader in a raid involving more than 500 troops, the country’s security minister announced on Monday, as President Claudia Sheinbaum intensifies her gang crackdown.
Audias Flores Silva’s capture is the latest blow to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, whose leader was killed during a US-supported raid in February, and comes after repeated calls from US President Donald Trump for aggressive anti-cartel measures.
Facing growing pressure to defy Washington, Sheinbaum is increasingly “hesitant and exhausted,” The Wall Street Journal reported, but remains eager to stave off US military intervention — or higher tariffs — amid stagnant growth and looming trade negotiations.
“We have embarked on this route and there is no turning back,” a Mexican official told the Journal.