Nazario Moreno Gonzálezalias ‘El Chayo‘, was a drug trafficker remembered for leading the Michoacan Family and The Knights Templarcriminal organizations involved in drug trafficking and other illicit activities.
Nazario Moreno’s criminal career is marked by myths and legends that describe him as an “altruistic” and “generous” figure, despite the criminal acts in which he was involved. Sometimes he is remembered as the drug dealer who died twicesince in December 2010 His alleged death was spread after a confrontation with the military in Michoacan, state where he was born in March 1970.
For the next four years that version was played, until the March 9, 2014. On that occasion an operation was carried out in the municipality of Tumbiscatío, Michoacán, where authorities shot down a man galloping on horseback. It was ‘El Chayo’, who managed to stay hidden since his alleged death was spread.
In addition to his two deaths, ‘El Chayo’ is also identified by the books and texts that were published under his name and that of the organizations he led. These writings were made with the supposed purpose of disseminating his ideals and thoughts, but the truth is that they functioned as a kind of propaganda which sought to recruit young people to join the ranks of criminal organizations.
This is one of the texts signed with the name of Nazario Moreno, who was also known as ‘The craziest‘. It is a set of aphorisms and motivational phrases that talk about a variety of topics, such as loneliness and justice.
The book consists of 100 pages and is written in cursive font, with abundant spelling and syntax errors. The writing does not mention any publisher or publishing workshop, but it began to circulate in Michoacán starting in 2006.
According to a note published by journalist Humberto Padgett in 2013 in However, the text had four editions. Between November 2006 and September 2007, nearly 26 thousand 500 copies.
On the cover of the writing a phrase is attached that reflects ‘El Chayo’s’ attempt to appear to be a “vigilante” of the people. The main axis was to spread the code of Conduct of their criminal groups, which is based on the precept of obedience.
“Justice without power is empty, power without justice only generates violence, we must be strong to defend the most vulnerable”
The text was distributed in Guerrero and Michoacán during the six-year term of Felipe Calderón (2006-2012). In its first pages it is indicated that it is the “diary of an idealist”, although the format of the book is more similar to a anecdotal in which ‘El Chayo’ tells part of his childhood, adolescence, youth and adulthood.
The book is made up of 35 chapters and the name of its title refers to the work of the Lebanese thinker Gibran Jalil Gibranwhose one of his books is called Crazy.
According to journalist Paul Medrano, the writing is impregnated with contradictions. None of its pages mention the violent and criminal activities carried out by the Familia Michoacana, that is, it never acknowledges that it is dedicated to drug trafficking.
To “explain” his actions to society, ‘El Chayo’ assures that his objective is to provide justice to the people of Michoacan and do good to his fellow men. In his attempt to appear to be an altruistic person, from the first chapter it is noted that the PAN government and the journalistic union have “malevolently” altered his behavior.
Likewise, he talks about his supposed death in 2010 and acknowledges having an open conflict with The Zetas and the government of then President Felipe Calderón.
“My name is Nazario Moreno González, my friends and family call me Chayo. Now, suddenly, I decided to write the most important events of my life, the good and the bad (…) Surely, some will think that I do it in order to justify my actions and make myself look like a little angel. However, those who think that are wrong.”
“This code is mandatory for all members who are part of the order of the Knights Templar of Michoacán,” it reads at the beginning of the booklet 22 pages in which are the behavioral guidelines of its members, that is, what is allowed and prohibited to do within the group.
As in the Familia Michoacana books, this booklet tries to spread a positive image of the criminal organization, by pointing out that its members are governed by certain qualities such as “honor”, “dignity”, “discipline”, “honesty” and “loyalty”.
But behind the 53 moral and religious precepts stated in the text, at no time are the drug trafficking, kidnapping or murder activities carried out by the Knights Templar mentioned.
At the end of the manuscript is included the “Templar Oath”in which some of the “ideals” mentioned in the previous pages are reiterated, such as respect for women, mothers, adults, children, the sick and the “needy”.
“If, unfortunately, I should betray my oath, I beg to be executed by the order as a traitor.”
The book was distributed in 2013 throughout the state of Michoacán. It is presumed that it was written in 2012, since there are fragments that refer to confrontations that occurred in the second half of that year.
As in the previous texts, its publication was carried out independently, that is, it did not have the support of any publishing house. Although the text is signed by a supposed journalist identified as JJ Coloradoresearcher Citlalli Mendoza points out that it could have been written by Nazario himself or by a “ghost writer” hired by the drug trafficker.
“The fact that the author has this degree of anonymity also places him in the secrecy and in a marginal space, whether as a journalist, as a ghostwriter, or as Moreno himself creating a pseudonym for himself,” indicates Mendoza in a publication by the Legal Research Institute of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).
The writing is composed of 17 chapters that talk about the failed actions of Felipe Calderón’s PAN government in the so-called “war on drugs”, the tactics of the Knights Templar, as well as the life of Nazario Moreno. It also refers to the text They call me the craziest.
On the cover of the book it is about spreading a patriotic and revolutionary image of Nazario, since the flag of Mexico appears surrounded by the faces of historical figures such as José María Morelos, Emiliano Zapata, Porfirio Cadena and Che Guevara (in addition to ‘Chayo’ himself).
According to Mendoza, this publication sought to “glorify, justify and legitimize” the criminal practices of Nazario Moreno, portraying him as a kind of Mexican “hero” or “justiciero.”
In this regard, the drug trafficking analyst, Jorge Chabatpointed out that these publications are part of the propaganda criminal with which it is intended to generate a “social base” in Michoacán and recruit young people from low socioeconomic strata, according to reports from Vanguard.
More than 10 years after Nazario’s death, his publications no longer appear as basic texts for the Familia Michoacana. Currently, the organization is led by the brothers Johnny and Alfredo Hurtado Olascoagadrug traffickers who are under the scrutiny of Mexican and United States (US) authorities for their involvement in fentanyl trafficking.
