Drug lord was “miserable” in months before his arrest, Mexican official says

Servando Gomez, the leader of the Caballeros Templarios drug cartel, was “miserable” in the months before his arrest, living in “permanent hiding” and not trusting anyone, Federal Police chief Enrique Galindo said Monday.

The drug lord “lived in misery, not just hiding,” but “isolated from his family,” Galindo told Radio Formula.

Gomez was arrested last Friday in Morelia, the capital of the western state of Michoacan.

The cartel boss was cut off from civilization and lived in “permanent hiding” in caves in the mountains, the Federal Police chief said.

Gomez covered his face when he went out in public and used messengers to send orders to his underlings, Galindo said.

The drug lord replaced his closest associates and “practically had no protection from his own group ... he had isolated himself from his group because he no longer trusted them,” the Federal Police chief said, citing the $2 million reward being offered by the government for information leading to Gomez’s arrest.

Gomez and eight members of his gang were captured by a special operations unit in Morelia.

The drug lord’s brother, Flavio Gomez, was arrested in a simultaneous operation in Merida, a city in southeastern Mexico.

Servando Gomez, known as “La Tuta” due to his past as a teacher, “did not understand the arrest” and appeared “very confused, at times scared, at times arrogant,” the Federal Police chief said.

The 49yearold Gomez had vowed to commit suicide if confronted by the authorities, but he “did not have a chance to do anything” because the “police operation was very efficient and a surprise,” Galindo said.

“Not even one shot was fired, we did not even bother the neighbors, it was an operation that lasted just minutes and we were out of there immediately,” Galindo said.

The operation resulted in “practically the entire structure” of the cartel being dismantled, the Federal Police chief said.

“The Federal Police alone has arrested more than 1,500 people linked to his criminal organization” in recent months, Galindo said.