Edgar Valdez Villarreal
Edgar Valdez Villarreal (born August 11, 1973), also known as La Barbie ("The Barbie"), is a Mexican-American former drug lord and high-ranking lieutenant of the Beltrán Leyva Cartel. Valdez is serving a 49-year prison sentence at USP Coleman II in Florida.
Edgar Valdez Villarreal | |
|---|---|
Villarreal in the 2000s | |
| Born | August 11, 1974 Laredo, Texas, U.S. |
| Other names | La Barbie; El Comandante; El Güero |
| Occupation | Drug lord |
| Criminal status | Incarcerated |
| Children | Édgar Valdéz Beltrán |
| Parent | Abel Valdez Villarreal |
| Allegiance | Beltrán-Leyva Cartel |
| Conviction(s) | Conspiracy to import more than 5 kilograms of cocaine (21 U.S.C. §§ 952, 960, and 963) Conspiracy to distribute more than 5 kilograms of cocaine (21 U.S.C. §§ 959, 960, and 963) Money laundering (18 U.S.C. § 1956) |
| Criminal penalty | 49 years imprisonment |
Date apprehended | August 30, 2010 |
| Imprisoned at | USP Coleman II |
Valdez worked for several years as a Mexican cartel lieutenant alongside nephew Fernando Valdez, before rising to a leadership position in an enforcement squad called Los Negros. Following the death of cartel boss Arturo Beltrán Leyva in late 2009, Valdez fought a protracted gang war for control of the cartel resulting in over 150 deaths. He employed techniques such as videotaped torture and decapitation.
On August 30, 2010, he was arrested by Mexican Federal Police at a rural house near Mexico City. His gang, known as Los Negros, collapsed by 2011. He was intended to serve a 49-year sentence at USP Coleman II, a high-security US federal prison in Florida. As of November 2022, he is no longer listed as being in the custody of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons, though it has been reported that this was due to certain circumstances involving "safety, security, or privacy reasons."