By Buggs for Borderland Beat
Segment 3
In the last segment we touched a little on Alfredo Beltran Leyva El Mochomo and Sergio Enrique Villarreal Barragán El Grande, who were both extradited to the US. Both have a lot of knowledge about corruption with the Mexican government and could sink Genaro Garcia Luna during his trial if they chose to testify against him. It is believed that El Grande is possibly a protected witness and most likely will testify in the trial of Garcia Luna. Today we will talk about another high-level capo, La Barbie.
Edgar Valdez Villarreal La Barbie is a US citizen and was a high-ranking lieutenant of the once powerful criminal cartel, the Beltrán Leyva Organization (BLO). Valdez was born and raised in Laredo, Texas and his nickname La Barbie was derived due to his white skin, blue eyes and facial features. La Barbie was the leader of the security detail of Arturo Beltran Leyva.
La Barbie managed to corrupt high level officials of the government of former President Felipe Calderón who are accused of having links with the Sinaloa Cartel and the Beltrán Leyva Organization. It was revealed through Mexican Journalist Anabel Hernandez that La Barbie was an informant for the DEA and the FBI in the United States while at the same time he was a participant in the corruption of Calderón. In essence, La Barbie was described in US court documents as a "two-sided coin with the same face."
He was a collaborator with officials of the Government of Felipe Calderón, who are alleged of providing confidential information to the Sinaloa Cartel and BLO. The information leaked to organize crime included the identities, photographs and locations of DEA agents who were working undercover in numerous parts of the Mexican territory, thus putting their lives at risk.
In 2009 the federal Mexican government of Felipe Calderon turned against the BLO and started to dismantle the organization. Mexican police raided his rental homes where they located grenades, automatic weapons and police uniforms. In June of 2010 La Barbie was indicted in a US court on charges of trafficking thousands of kilos of cocaine from Mexico into the US. It is believed he was trafficking about one ton of cocaine per month.
On August 30, 2010, La Barbie was arrested by Mexican Federal Police near Mexico City. On September 30, 2015, he was extradited to the USA. In June of 2018 he was sentenced to 49 years in a US federal prison. In November of 2022 Borderland Beat was the first to report that La Barbie was no longer listed in federal prison custody. The website of the Federal Bureau of Prisons listed him as "not in BOP custody."
There was speculation that perhaps he was set free. I am certain that is not the case. La Barbie is most likely housed in an undisclosed facility and with full protection, as he will most likely play a central role in the trial against Garcia Luna. The US government has a vested interest in ensuring that nothing happens to their star witness.
Borderland Beat has known for years of the corruption between these cartels and the Mexican government, but not until his arrest by Mexican authorities, that he was ready to talk. In November of 2012, La Barbie wrote a letter.
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THE LETTER
Below is the full text of the letter delivered on November 27 2012 to Grupo Reforma (diarios El Norte, Reforma, Mural) and subsequently made public. The letter was also sent to Journalist Anabel Hernandez.
My arrest was the result of a political persecution by (president) C. Felipe Calderón Hinojosa. Calderon initiated an attack against me, because I refused to form part of the agreement that Mr. Calderón Hinojosa wanted to have with all the organized crime groups. He personally held several meetings, to have talks with various groups of organized crime.
Subsequently, numerous meetings were held through General Mario Arturo Acosta Chaparro, who met by order of the President and Juan Camilo Mouriño, with two of the leaders of the Familia Michoacana. Later, the general also met in Matamoros with Heriberto Lazcano El Lazca and Miguel Ángel Treviño El Z-40 (leaders of Los Zetas). Sometime later, Acosta Chaparro and Mouriño met with Arturo Beltrán Leyva, El Barbas, (leaders of the Belytran Leyva Organization) and also met with El Chapo Guzmán, leader of the Sinaloa cartel.
Calderón wanted to forge agreements with all the cartels: Los Zetas cartel, the Gulf cartel, with me, the Juárez cartel, with Vicente, and Mayo and Chapo of the Sinaloa Cartel. Since he did not receive a response from me and because I did not want to have collaborations with any other criminal groups, Calderon initiated a directed persecution against me. He ordered several searches of my homes without a legal warrant. They stole money, jewelry, cars, as well as numerous other belongings.
Genaro García Luna, head of the Federal Public Security Secretariat (SSP) since at least 2002, first in the AFI and then in the PFP, received money from me in various occasions as a result of drug trafficking and having knowledge it was coming from organized crime. A select group that included Armando Espinosa de Benito, who was collaborating with the DEA and provided me sensitive information. Other government officials that received money from me were Luis Cárdenas Palomino, Edgar Eusebio Millán Gómez, Francisco Javier Garza Palacios (PF Colombia), Igor Labastida Calderón, Facundo Rosas Rosas, Ramón Eduardo Pequeño García and Gerardo Garay Cadena.
Among them, they claim that they were tasked in "arresting me in some operation," but in reality, they had the instructions to kill me. At the time of my arrest, which was carried out at my home as reported by the media, I was alone. They say that I was arrested without firing a single gunshot on that day, but the truth was that there was gunfire. A federal policeman who was the same one who took me in custody, urged me to run so that he could shoot me, and be able to claim that he was repelling an attack. They intended to kill me just like they did to Arón Arturo Gines Becerril. Gines Becerril was killed in the vicinity of the Perisur Shopping Center. He was shot nemrous times in the back on the same day I was arrested.
Everything was covered up by the PF. It is worth mentioning that despite the background of Genaro García Luna, who is looking at numerous criminal charges and of which the American government is already aware of, was directly involved. They even have knowledge of other issues that were talked about during the review of the Mérida Initiative. I already have access to the most recent testimony of the collaboration of protected witness Mateo (Sergio Villarreal) that is being held by President Felipe Calderón without criminal charges being brought against him (prior to his extradition).
It should be noted that in all the arrests made by the Federal Police, nothing is confiscated as evidence, everything is stolen (money, watches, vehicles, drugs, etc.). It is necessary to point out that both the Mexican Army and the Secretary of the Navy tend to be more honest. They detain who they are supposed to and make them available to the proper authorities. I could had easily done what they do, but they, the Mexican governmental public officials I mentioned, are also part of the criminal structure of this country."
Signed:
EDGAR VALDEZ VILLARREAL
Sources: Grupo Reforma, Journalist Anabel Hernandez and US court documents.
I never met La Barbie or El Grande before but La Barbie looks like a kind hearted person who was just doing the best he could for his country, the ,USA
ReplyDeleteAs we see, Barbie is DEA/DoJ and also involved with the Mexican President. No wonder he "disappeared" into protective custody or PC.
I bet he's got a new name and banging the same old gala he always used to
Like you are in a position to meet La Barbie....
DeleteYou are insane
DeleteTo be honest I think La Barbie is lying and exaggerating with the crazy story. Most likely he won’t be able to corroborate on it. He needs more people to come forward and help him with his lies.
DeleteAn American doing the right thing, fighting evil wherever it exists. Brings a tear to the eye.
ReplyDeleteBarbie looks great in her princess outfit. It's a collectors item.
ReplyDeleteHe will get a large reduction from his sentence, still don't understand why they didn't offer Chapo the chance to see Mexico again surely he has a ton of dirt on Luna
ReplyDeletehe would have done it for a better cell forget about freedom lol
DeleteLa Barbie was the original Mata Zeta ! He hated and hunted them with efficiency .They killed his brother . Although Arturo Beltran allied with Zetas ,La Barbie did not.
ReplyDeleteI don't think so
DeleteNegative chief
DeleteNegative on what?
DeleteHe was affiliated with Los Chachos before the Zetas killed Chacho and took over the Nuevo Laredo plaza, no?
DeleteLa Barbie was Arturos head of security, in effect, so he had no choice when Arturo allied with them. And they didn't kill his blood brother, they killed his ''brother'' as in compadre.
Delete@Seregalin. Yes, then he was sent by Chapo and Arturo to take it back for CDS (with that notorious blanket giving Zs 24 hours to leave), but 40 allegedly held it. Years later when Chapo and Arturo went to war Barbie worked with the Zetas to fight Chapo, in an uneasy alliance.
DeleteYou mean la barbie got his ass kicked by the zetas. The cdg and zetas kill his sicarios and took nuevo Laredo from his associated criminal groups. La barbie is a fucking looser. And a traitor. Make a movie about that. Totally irrelevant in Mexico's narco history.
DeleteWas he really his brother or someone with same last name but not blood related? Armando Valdés
DeleteI don’t understand why people keep on saying Chapo was his boss when Barbie clearly has said he did not worked for them but he did worked with them. He clearly said he was a solo rider.
DeleteSeems like it was his blood brother, and I was wrong about it just being a compadre- Armando Valdes, like you say. I was told he was referring to Chacho, his old boss.
DeleteWeird how govts never really answer.
ReplyDeletePapa always said make sure you always have something in your pocket to trade.
ReplyDeleteI don’t think any of this will do anything but put facts with what we’ve all known along. The government is thick as thieves with the cartels. Always have and always will be.
ReplyDeleteYeah, although it's a preview of what's to come with Luna's trial and the kind of stories we can hopefully expect.
DeleteBarbie music got be selling dreams on the stand. I mean just because he says something doesn’t mean it’s true. He’s an admitted drug trafficker. And I know drug dealers they’ll lie rob steal do whatever to make money. I’m just saying. I’d take what he says with a grain of salt. The bigger the claim the more reason to question it. Why is he the only narco with this type of info ? WHY does the government believe and give him credibility? He has alot to gain and not really anything to lose with his testimony. If it’s true and helps government he’ll get a sentence reduction, but if it’s all bs and does nothing to help what harm is it to Barbie? He still got 49 yrs. I just think it more to all this than we know. That’s all I’m saying.
ReplyDeleteWell evidently he's not the only Narco with this type of info as El Grande seems to be taking the stand in Garcia Luna's trial. Barbie really seems to be more Public with his information than most other narco's
DeleteHe’s a US Citizen, that’s the difference. He has a lot of info, and the US Gov is very interested to hear about it. I’m sure he’ll be able to rove half of it, but it’s better than nothing. Lots of people will lose their sleep
ReplyDeleteHe's a USA citizen, HIS WORD IS GOSPEL!!!
DeleteWhen his movie coming out buggs?
ReplyDeleteThere was a movie about La Barbie ,starring Danny Trejo
DeleteIts named "American Sicario" .Its a horrible movie !horrible acting !horrible actors/actress !bad script!
6:05
DeleteI think you mean "Renegades" .
In the movie the British actors called him Mr. Sanchez. He only played a small part. The movie was more adapted for the American audience.
British actors known not to cus, were saying the "F" every chance they got.
No he means American Sicario like he said. I too watched it on Prime then on Hulu. It sucked bad everything. Armie Hammer supposedly bought Barbies life rights. My thing is what about that law they passed back in the day “Son of Sam” Law? How can these guys profit off of movie rights and things pertaining to their life story if crimes were being committed? How can they make money when there’s a law specifically against that?
DeleteHe’s Either MDC or MCC in NYC. Wonder how much the Rule 35 is gonna take off his sentence.
ReplyDeleteEl patron de Acapulco
ReplyDeleteLa Barbie's a fucking psychopath. I thought he was arrested on the Cuernavaca highway, not in his residence as he states in the letter. Which is correct?
ReplyDeleteThanks Buggs for being Buggs
So, American Barbie was working for the fbi and dea while mass murdering Mexicans. Perfect government witness!
ReplyDeleteYeah really it’s like they don’t believe or respect you unless your elbow deep in the shit your trying to tell them about.
DeleteAll those Big Narco names are either dead or in prison for life. Big Narcos have an expiration date no matter how much mordida you kick up to the Big Guy.
ReplyDeleteThat’s a hell of a Dear Juan he wrote!
ReplyDeleteWhy should we believe anything this salty criminal says? Thanks for writing buggs I learned much
ReplyDeleteCriminals also tell the truth...I was arrested and charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance. I pled guilty and i did my time. Hence , i told the truth and the court had no problem taking me at my word..Never did they or anyone say , he has priors so he must be lying...If a criminals testimony can be backed by other evidence it doesnt matter if drug dealers lie and do all those other things for money
DeleteYeah , but what motive would you have to lie and plead guilty to something you didn’t do ? Exactly a little common sense goes along way. Barbie has every reason in the world to lie and spin the truth his way. He’s a confessed criminal. I believe that about him 100%. But thinking that he isn’t lying is the most naive thing I’ve ever heard on this site.
DeleteI think it’s as ignorant to think he’s lying solely on the grounds that he is a criminal. It’s equally as ignorant to believe the govt solely on the fact that it’s the govt.
DeleteWho had a higher rank Barbie or El Grande?
ReplyDelete@4:29 el grande worked under la Barbie if im correct
DeleteEl Grande
Delete