Day 38: O3 Collective Council Hardens; Operativo Enjambre Reaches 64+ Official Arrests; El Jardinero Primary Target

Day 38 since El Mencho's killing at Tapalpa, Jalisco (February 22, 2026). O3 (Juan Carlos Valencia González), El Mencho's California-born stepson, continues cementing control under a collective council structure with Grupo Élite providing paramilitary enforcement capacity — consistent with U.S. NCTC, Wall Street Journal, and InSight Crime reporting. Operativo Enjambre has now produced a cumulative total of 64+ officials detained for crimes including extortion, express kidnapping, homicide, and ties to organized crime across Jalisco, Michoacán, and additional states, according to judicial documents reviewed by Mexican media. El Jardinero (Audias Flores Silva) remains the primary active high-value targeting objective of the post-Tapalpa campaign: his $5 million U.S. State Department bounty remains active, and U.S. intelligence assessments continue to identify him as controlling plazas across Jalisco, Nayarit, Zacatecas, and Michoacán. Heraclio Guerrero Martínez ('Tío Lako') continues managing logistics and corridor operations in northern and central Mexico. No new senior-command-level captures publicly confirmed for Day 38. U.S.-Mexico enforcement cooperation remains high-tempo; bilateral sanctions coordination on CJNG-linked financial networks — including the February 2026 Kovay Gardens timeshare sanctions — continues through OFAC and Mexico's UIF.