United States Southern Command released video footage on social media showing what appeared to be a vessel at sea moments before an explosion engulfed it in flames.The military said it immediately alerted the United States Coast Guard to begin search-and-rescue operations for the surviving individual.The strike marked the latest in a series of U.S. military operations targeting suspected drug-trafficking boats in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean Sea since September

. According to Associated Press reporting, the campaign has resulted in at least 193 deaths. The Pentagon has repeatedly said the targeted vessels were operating along known drug-smuggling routes and linked to trafficking networks, though officials have not publicly presented evidence showing that the destroyed boats were carrying narcotics.

The operation came days after the White House announced that President Donald Trump had approved a revised U.S. counterterrorism strategy prioritizing the dismantling of drug cartels across Latin America and the Caribbean.

Trump has described cartels as an “unacceptable threat” to hemispheric security and has urged regional governments to intensify military cooperation with Washington against organized crime and transnational gangs.

The strikes have intensified in recent weeks despite growing scrutiny from legal scholars and human rights groups, who have questioned the legality of using military force against suspected traffickers outside conventional armed conflict zones.

Critics have argued the operations risk constituting extrajudicial killings because the U.S. government has disclosed limited evidence about the identities of those targeted or the intelligence underpinning the attacks.

The campaign has also coincided with a major expansion of U.S. military activity in Latin America and Caribbean waters, where the administration says it is attempting to curb narcotics flows into the United States and disrupt cartel financing networks.

Flores, a regional commander who controlled large portions of CJNG territory along Mexico’s Pacific coast, had been viewed by security analysts as a potential successor to cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera, known as “El Mencho,” following Oseguera’s death in a security operation in February.Garcia Harfuch said on social media platform X that Flores was detained under a Mexican arrest warrant and also faced criminal charges in the United States.

“He is also wanted by U.S. authorities for extradition. The U.S. government had offered a $5 million reward for his capture,” Garcia Harfuch wrote.The U.S. Treasury Department previously identified Flores as a “significant foreign narcotics trafficker” and said that a U.S. grand jury in 2021 charged him with conspiracy to distribute cocaine and heroin, among other offenses.

CJNG is one of Mexico’s most powerful and violent criminal organizations, with operations spanning drug trafficking, extortion and territorial control across several states. The cartel has long been a major target of both Mexican and U.S. authorities.

Carlos Olivo, a former U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration assistant special agent in charge and an expert on CJNG, said Flores’ arrest could have a deeper operational impact than the earlier killing of El Mencho.“He’s a significant figure,” Olivo said. “His arrest will have a bigger effect on CJNG operations than Mencho being taken out.”The detention is the latest development in a broader campaign against Mexico’s drug cartels under intensified federal security operations.

Garcia Harfuch has made the dismantling of CJNG leadership a priority and previously blamed El Mencho for a 2020 assassination attempt against him in which two of his bodyguards were killed.Security analysts had identified Flores as one of several senior regional commanders positioned to compete for control of the cartel after leadership disruptions earlier this year.

Mexico’s security environment remains under heightened international attention as the country prepares to co-host the FIFA World Cup this summer with the United States and Canada, placing additional pressure on authorities to demonstrate progress against organized crime and violence.