Nazario Moreno González

Who was Nazario Moreno González?

Nazario Moreno González was a Mexican drug lord and the spiritual leader of La Familia Michoacana, a drug cartel headquartered in the state of Michoacán.

Very few details are known of Moreno González early life, but the authorities believe that religion played a major role in his upbringing. Although born in Michoacán, Moreno González moved to the United States as a teenager, but fled back into Mexico about a decade later to avoid prosecution on drug trafficking charges. In 2004, the drug boss Carlos Rosales Mendoza was captured, and Moreno González, alongside José de Jesús Méndez Vargas, took control of La Familia Michoacana. Unlike other traditional drug trafficking organizations in Mexico, his organization also operated like a religious cult, where its own members were given "bibles" with sayings and conduct guidelines. While he was alive, Moreno González reportedly carried out several philanthropic deeds to help the marginalized in Michoacán. Such deeds helped him craft an image of protector, saint, and Christ-like messianic figure among the poor, and gave La Familia Michoacana a level of influence among some natives.

He was killed in December 2010 following a two-day gunfight with the Mexican federal police in his home state. In the shootout, his body was never recovered because his gunmen managed to carry out several of the bodies, including his, up the hills. Although no official reports exist, there are rumors that Moreno González may be alive and leading the Knights Templar Cartel, the split-off group of La Familia Michoacana.