August 11, 1973 - Edgar Valdez Villarreal
A U.S.-born figure who rose through Mexico's cartel underworld to become one of its more operationally brutal commanders, Valdez is notable both for his unlikely background and for the methods he used to wage an internal power struggle that left over 150 dead following the 2009 collapse of the Beltrán Leyva leadership. His use of videotaped torture and decapitation was calculated as much for psychological effect as for physical elimination of rivals. The gang infrastructure he built dissolved within a year of his arrest.
From Wikipedia
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.
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 is intended to serve a 49-year sentence as inmate 05658-748 at USP Coleman II, a high-security US federal prison in Florida.
- Last updated on .