A Mexican drug lord said to have been killed more than three years ago has been shot dead in a clash with authorities, officials say.
A man who died in a shootout on Sunday in western Michoacan state "has been identified as Nazario Moreno", also known as "El Chayo", a government official said ahead of a press conference set to take place at 12pm (AEDT) on Monday.
The previous Mexican government reported that Moreno, a leader of the La Familia cartel, was killed in December 2010. But his body was never located and reported sightings fuelled speculation he was alive.
"All signs point to this being 'El Chayo'," a government official said earlier on condition of anonymity.
The government deployed more than 9000 troops and federal police in Michoacan's Tierra Caliente ("hot land") region in January after new gunfights erupted between the cartel and vigilantes.
Michoacan is known as Mexico's lime-and-avocado heartland, but it is also the country's top producer of iron ore.
The Knights Templar gang snatched the underground riches to diversify its business, which includes the production of crystal meth and extortion rackets against fruit growers, tortilla makers and municipal officials.
Moreno was a founder of La Familia Michoacana, which spawned the Knights Templar after his presumed death.
He was considered the cartel's spiritual leader, having penned a "bible" used to indoctrinate recruits.
After Moreno's alleged death in 2010, he was turned into a saintly figure in Michoacan, with shrines built in his honour.
Yet people in Michoacan were always convinced that Moreno had survived the 2010 shootout with federal police.
A US security official several weeks ago had told AFP privately: "El Chayo is alive, hiding in the mountains and leading the Knights Templar.
"He sees himself as Che Guevara, dresses up in Knights Templar outfit with the Maltese cross and even a sword," the official added.
