Edgar Valdez Villarreal

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Edgar Valdez Villarreal

Edgar Valdez Villarreal or La Barbie (born August 11, 1973 in Laredo (Texas) ) is a drug trafficker who worked with various Mexican drug cartels, in particular with the Beltrán-Leyva cartel . He led a small but very brutal gang of murderers and smugglers in Nuevo Laredo and Acapulco . He comes from a US middle class family.

Life

Valdez grew up in the US border town of Laredo and attended schools there. His nickname "La Barbie" came from his football coach after he was first called Ken , the male equivalent of Barbie , because of his looks .

After graduating from high school, he began his criminal activities selling and smuggling marijuana . In 1998 he was charged with drug smuggling in the United States. He moved to Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, and worked there with Dionisio Román García Sánchez (alias El Chacho).

In 2002, Valdez placed a full-page newspaper ad accusing the Los Zetas of wanting his death and not being bothered by the state for it. He then joined the Beltrán Leyva cartel.

In 2005 a video appeared on YouTube in which several alleged Los Zetas members disclosed information about their organization. One of them was eventually shot. The off-screen voice is attributed to Valdez.

On August 22, 2010, four decapitated bodies were found hanging by their feet on a bridge in Cuernavaca over the Mexico City - Acapulco highway . According to an attached note, these should constitute a warning to Valdez and his followers.

Until his arrest, Óscar Osvaldo García Montoya is said to have been Edgar Valdez Villarreal's bodyguard.

Arrest and extradition to the United States

The US government offered him a reward of two million dollars. He was arrested on August 30, 2010, along with four other people, on the basis of information from the US intelligence services and the statements of former accomplices, near Mexico City without resistance. He is accused of "endangering national security". Felipe Calderón spoke of him as the most wanted Mexican criminal. According to the American drug search, Valdez is said to have been responsible for the protection money business in the Beltrán-Leyva cartel . He is also said to have been the leader of the Los Negros , a group responsible for a large number of murders, and to have been largely responsible for the expansion of the drug war into central and southern Mexico.

In November 2010 the formalities for a possible extradition to the USA were initiated. On September 30, 2015, the Mexican government extradited him to the USA along with 12 other criminals at the request of a US court. He is charged with belonging to a criminal organization and money laundering in the US.

In June 2018, Valdez was sentenced to 49 years and one month in prison by an Atlanta, Georgia court.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Bernd Pickert: Brutality is his trademark. In: the daily newspaper , August 31, 2010.
  2. ↑ Alex Gertschen: Morals for the war with no foreseeable end. NZZ, September 6, 2010, accessed October 30, 2015 .
  3. ↑ a b Mexico's police catch drug lords. In: Spiegel Online , August 31, 2010.
  4. ↑ a b "La Barbie": An American Druglord. Borderland Beat, March 31, 2013.
  5. ↑ Four decapitated corpses dangle from the bridge. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung , August 31, 2010.
  6. ↑ Bernd Pickert: The 900 murders of "El Compayito". In: the daily newspaper , August 12, 2012.
  7. ↑ Annette Langer : How "Barbie" went from football star to drug baron. In: Spiegel Online , August 31, 2010.
  8. ↑ Klaus Ehringfeld: drug lord "La Barbie" arrested. In: Frankfurter Rundschau , August 31, 2010.
  9. ↑ «Barbie» arrested. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung , August 31, 2010.
  10. ↑ Mexico Prepares to Extradite Drug King Pin 'La Barbie' to US. In: Latin American Herald Tribune , accessed January 6, 2011.
  11. ↑ Mexico delivers several drug traffickers to the USA. Zeit.de, October 1, 2015, accessed October 19, 2015 .
  12. ↑ Arron Daugherty: Explaining Mexico's Decision to Extradite Alleged Drug Lords. InSight Crime, October 1, 2015, accessed October 19, 2015 .
  13. ↑ US-Mexican drug lord sentenced to almost 50 years in prison In: Spiegel Online , June 8, 2018.
personal data
SURNAME Villarreal, Edgar Valdez
ALTERNATIVE NAMES La Barbie
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Mexican drug dealer
DATE OF BIRTH August 11, 1973
PLACE OF BIRTH Texas