Captured Zetas Leader ‘Z-40’ Tells Judge He Is A ‘Farmer,’ Denies Being Drug Lord

Miguel Treviño Morales, the Zeta cartel leader and drug lord who became known as one of the most brutal of a long line of Mexican drug traffickers, told a Toluca judge in August that he was none of those things, but rather a farmer who made about 40,000 pesos (about $3,120) per month and who fears for his life in the prison where he is being held, according to Reforma. "I do not belong to any criminal organization, " said the man known as "Z-40" in a court filing dated August 19, "I am a farmer. I do not engage in illegal things. I work in agriculture." He also added that he had 5 economic dependents: a woman to whom he was not married and four children.

In accordance with the authorities' criminal profile, it was verified in the court that Treviño Morales had two tattoos: one of a cobra on his right forearm and the other, a square with the legend "Made in Mexico", on the back of his neck. One inconsistency between the profile and the man did emerge: the presumed leader of the Zetas appears not to have any scars, as the profile suggests. Treviño Morales told the judge that he answered to none of his many reputed aliases, which include "El 40" and "Muerte ("Death"), aside from "El Mike". He also indicated that he had no vices - not games of chance, alcohol, tobacco or drugs. In the 2013 book "Midnight in Mexico" by journalist Alfredo Corchado, who himself became the object of a Zeta hit, the drug lord is described thusly: "Treviño Morales was distrustful of everyone-except his brother Omar, Z-42-and slept inside his car. He was addicted to marijuana, was antisocial, and liked living in the wilderness-some called him El Chacal, the Jackal-because he was a night owl and difficult to find in the woods."

Treviño Morales was captured in mid-July by members of the Mexican marines as he drove in a pickup truck on a dirt road near Nuevo Laredo, not far from the Texas border. At the time, the 40-year-old cartel leader had seven warrants for his arrest in Mexico and was the subject of 12 preliminary investigations for murder, organized crime and torture, including the 2010 massacre of 72 migrants and the following year's massacre of 193 Mexican citizens in the state of Tamaulipas. He was also wanted on drug and guns charges in the United States, where authorities had put out a $5 million reward for information leading to his capture.

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