Songs Glorifying Cartels Mentioning 'El Jardinero' as CJNG's Next Leader After Death of 'El Mencho'

Ballads associated with Mexico's narcoculture, popularly known as corridos, are signaling a potential leadership transition within the Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) after the killing of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias "El Mencho." Concretely, they are mentioning Audias Flores Silva, known as "El Jardinero," as his successor.

With Oseguera Cervantes killed in a federal operation during the weekend and his son Rubén Oseguera González, "El Menchito," serving a life sentence in the United States, attention has turned to who will lead the cartel, which largely operates under a decentralized structure.

In the corrido "El Sucesor," released back in 2022 and performed by Gerardo Díaz, the lyrics state: "They say I am the successor ... they also say I am the old man's right-hand man." Another song titled "El Jardinero" released last year by Los Farmerz ellaborates on that idea by stating: "My password was in the press: that I am the successor of the enterprise."

Flores Silva has long been identified by U.S. authorities as a senior CJNG figure. The State Department last year announced sanctions against five Mexico-based CJNG leaders, including Flores Silva, stating that he "controls clandestine laboratories used to produce methamphetamine and other illegal drugs trafficked to the United States."

The department offered "a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Flores."

The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) also mentioned Flores Silva in its indictment of a timeshare fraud network last week, saying it was led by CJNG and operated in part under his authority in Nayarit. Treasury described CJNG as "a brutally violent terrorist cartel" that has diversified revenue streams beyond drug trafficking, including through fraud schemes targeting U.S. citizens.

OFAC stated that timeshare fraud operations in Nayarit are "controlled by CJNG operatives acting on behalf of Audias Flores Silva," who had been previously designated. The department emphasized that sanctions are intended to disrupt financial networks supporting illicit activity.

While no formal statement has confirmed a succession within CJNG, the convergence of intelligence assessments, U.S. sanctions designations, and messaging in popular ballads suggests Flores Silva is positioned as a leading figure following El Mencho's death.