News

Mexico cartel leader thrived by playing dead

By
Published March 10, 2014 11:27pm ET
Add Washington Examiner on Google
Mexico cartel leader thrived by playing dead
FILE - In this Dec. 12, 2010 file photo, a man holds a sign that reads in Spanish "Nazario will always live in our hearts," referring to La Familia drug cartel leader Nazario Moreno Gonzalez during a demonstration after the government announced he was killed in Apatzingan, Mexico. Years later on Sunday, March 9, 2014, officials say they are trying to determine if a man killed in an early morning shootout is Moreno. Some residents of Michoacan have reported seeing Moreno as his former cartel, La Familia Michoacana, was morphing into the more vicious and powerful Knights Templar. (AP Photo/Primera Plana, File) | Anonymous

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Cartel kingpin Nazario Moreno Gonzalez played dead for more than three years, putting on one of the greatest performances in drug-trafficking history.

The Mexican government had delivered him the perfect alibi: The head of the vicious cartel based in the western state of Michoacan had been killed in a shootout with federal police, they announced in December 2010.

Print subscriber? Click here to login/register your account
Digital subscriber? Click here to login/register your account.

Trusted reporting.Unlimited access.

Subscribe for full access to Washington Examiner coverage, expert political analysis, and subscriber-only journalism.

Get Unlimited Access

Already a member? Log in

Cancel anytime.

Tag:

Drug Cartels Mexico World