Mexican drug lord 'The Craziest One' shot dead a second time
Nazario Moreno Gonzalez was announced dead by the Mexican government in 2010, but his body was not found
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.One of Mexico’s most notorious drug lords was shot and killed on Sunday morning, despite the Government announcing he was dead four years ago.
The head of the criminal investigation unit for the federal Attorney General's Office confirmed that Nazario Moreno Gonzalez, the leader of the Knights Templar Cartel, was killed in an early-morning shooutout with troops.
Nicknamed El Mas Loco or 'The Craziest One’, Moreno was thought to have died following a two-day gunbattle with federal police in December 2010 in his home state of Michoacan, but no body was found at the time.
The 43-year-old, who would have turned 44 on Saturday, had been tracked by the Mexican military before they confronted him in the remote town of Timbuscatio.
Officials said the troops fired in response to “aggression” as they tried to make an arrest.
Alejandro Rubido, security spokesman for President Enrique Pena Nieto's administration, said that despite the December 2010 announcement that Moreno had been killed, national government officials taking over Michoacan, where the drug lord's La Familia cartel was based, heard reports in January that he was alive.
“Anonymous tips indicated that Nazario Moreno was not only living, but continued operating at the head of a criminal group conducting extortion, kidnapping and other crimes,” Rubido said, adding that at the time of his first reported death, he had committed multiple murders.
In 2010, the government of then-President Felipe Calderon officially declared that Moreno was dead and there was proof, but some residents of Michoacan had reported seeing Moreno since then.
La Familia was the first target of Calderon's assault on Mexican drug trafficking, and he touted Moreno's death and his dismantling of the cartel as a victory.
However, after Moreno's supposed 2010 death, La Familia Michoacana grew stronger and became the more vicious and powerful Knights Templar, and became a major trafficker of methamphetamine to the US.
Calderon was not immediately available for comment.
The hunt spiked last year as anti-Moreno vigilantes took up arms against the Knights Templar.
“This is a victory,” said Hipolito Mora, one of the leaders of the groups whose rise caused Pena Nieto's administration to act. “He did a lot of damage to the people of Michoacan.”
Moreno's killing follows the capture of Mexico's most powerful drug lord, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who surrendered when marines raided his condo in the Pacific resort city of Mazatlan last month.
Additional reporting by AP
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments