Wall Street Journal, 11/28/2012
An alleged cartel kingpin accused high-ranking members of President Felipe Calderón’s government, including the country’s top police official, of taking bribes from organized crime.
From Mexican Jail, Top Cop Accused
November 30, 2012
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Mexico charges generals over suspected drug gang ties
August 1, 2012BBC, 8/1/12
Photo by Flickr user Thraxil
Gen Roberto Dawe Gonzalez, and retired officers Tomas Angeles Dauahare, Ricardo Escorcia Vargas and Silvio Hernandez Soto, were arrested in May.They are accused of ties to the Beltran Leyva cartel – charges they deny.
The men are among the highest-ranking officers to be arrested and charged in recent years…
Charges of “organised crime to further drug-trafficking” have been brought against the four men, according to a statement from the Attorney General’s Office.
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An American Drug Lord in Acapulco
August 25, 2011Rolling Stone, 8/25/11
On a warm morning in May a few years ago, Edgar Valdez, a drug lord who goes by the nickname La Barbie, woke up in one of the houses he owned in the resort city of Acapulco. In the 1950s, this beautiful beach town was the premier haunt of American celebrities: Frank Sinatra used to prowl the hotel lounges, Elizabeth Taylor had her third of eight weddings here, and John F. Kennedy honeymooned on the coast with Jacqueline. The glamour started to fade in the 1980s, but the city remained a popular vacation destination until a few years ago, when the Mexican cartels transformed Acapulco from a seaside paradise into one of the most violent flash points of the drug war. As chief enforcer for the town’s most powerful cartel, Barbie drove the celebrities away for good and made tourists nervous about straying too far into Acapulco when their cruise ships pulled into port. He felt bad about it, a little, but that is the way of the world, he thought – eat or be eaten.
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Mexico drug gang leader arrested
November 24, 2010The Los Angeles Times, 11/24/2010
Mexican authorities Wednesday announced they had arrested the new leader of the drug gang formerly run by suspected kingpin Edgar “La Barbie” Valdez Villarreal.
The arrest late Tuesday of Carlos Montemayor marked a fresh blow against the remnants of the once-formidable Beltran Leyva gang, battered by arrests, deaths and vicious internal fighting.
Mexican federal police said Montemayor took over the faction once led by Valdez, a U.S. citizen arrested in August. The in-fighting has stoked months of killings and beheadings across the states of Morelos and Guerrero, home to the resort city of Acapulco.
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Mexico charges US-born drug suspect ‘La Barbie’
November 20, 2010MSNBC, 11/20/2010
Mexican authorities have filed a formal charges against alleged drug kingpin Edgar “La Barbie” Valdez Villareal, and they also say he might be extradited to the United States.
The Mexican Attorney General’s Organized Crime Unit says Valdez faces charges including drug trafficking, kidnapping and arms possession. He had been held pending charges since his Aug. 30 arrest.
The attorney general’s office said Saturday the Texas-born Valdez also now faces a formal extradition process based on a U.S. warrant.
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Interrogation reveals information on the 20 missing tourists from Michoacan
October 20, 2010Proceso, translated by the Borderland Beat Blog, 10/20/2010
A municipal police officer of Acapulco has revealed the names of his bosses and the police officers who are operating within the criminal structure that is led by Edgar Valdez Villarreal, also known as the notorious La Barbie. In addition to this, he has also given some clues as to who may be responsible for the disappearance of 20 tourists from the neighboring state of Michoacan. That incident occurred this year on Sept 30th, it was prepertrated by armed commandos, operating in the area known as Costa Azul.
In the video titled DECLARACION DE LOS 20 MICHOACANOS y SALOMON GAXIOLA POLICIA DE ACAPULCO DELATA A SUS COMPAÑEROS, circulating on YouTube, a visibly beaten and tortured man is interrogated by three subjects who coerce the man to admit he is from colonia Emiliano Zapata and that he works for La Barbie.
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‘La Barbie’ stays put — for now
October 13, 2010Houston Chronicle, 10/13/2010
A Texan captured in Mexico and accused of leading a drug cartel will wait up to 40 more days to find out if he’ll face trial there or be handed over to the United States for justice, officials said Wednesday.
Edgar Valdez Villarreal, known as La Barbie, has been held at a fortified federal police compound in Mexico City since he was arrested near the capital in late August without a shot being fired.
Among the issues is whether Mexico has enough evidence to make a case against Valdez.
He is wanted on drug trafficking charges in Atlanta, Laredo and perhaps elsewhere in the United States. Valdez is unique: He was raised in Texas but was able to gain the confidence of Mexico’s most feared gangsters while climbing to the top of an organization.
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September 2010 news report from the Justice in Mexico Project
September 23, 2010
Justice in Mexico Project, 9/23/2010
Here are a few highlights:
- Cartel-related killings slow slightly in August- September
- Arrests of high-profile cartel members “La Barbie” and “El Grande”
- Clinton raises specter of insurgency in Mexico
- Mass killing of migrants in Tamaulipas sheds light on Zeta operations and scrutinizes role of migration authority
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Top 10 Notorious Mexican Drug Lords
September 15, 2010Time, 9/15/2010
The arrest of a series of Mexican criminal kingpins, including Edgar “La Barbie” Valdez last month and Sergio “El Grande” Villarreal, offers small encouragement as Mexico tries to rein in the powerful drug cartels that have wreaked havoc across the country. TIME looks at 10 prominent gangsters who have so far evaded justice, despite rewards offered for their arrest on both sides of the border.
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Suspected Drug Lord Captured in Mexico State
August 30, 2010
The Los Angeles Times, 8/30/2010
Mexico announced the capture Monday of one of its most wanted alleged drug lords, a Texas-born figure accused of unleashing a wave of brutal slayings near Mexico City as part of a ruthless battle with rivals.
Edgar Valdez Villarreal, also known by the improbable nickname “La Barbie,” was seized by federal police in the state of Mexico, the region surrounding Mexico City, the Public Security Ministry said in a statement.
Valdez allegedly served as the top enforcer for Arturo Beltran Leyva, a major kingpin killed by Mexican marines in December. Since Beltran Leyva’s death, police say, Valdez had been locked in a vicious war with Beltran Leyva’s brother Hector for control of the cartel’s business.
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