Man or Myth? American Drug Lord 'La Barbie' Fascinates and Terrorizes

Edgar Valdez-Villareal at Forefront of Drug Wars, Killing Hundreds Along the Mexican Border.

By John Quinones

For some along the Texas-Mexico border, Edgar Valdez-Villareal is an American success story.

Valdez-Villareal is a wealthy businessman from Laredo, Texas, who has hit the big time, raking in millions of dollars. Now living the good life in Mexico, he drives fancy cars and has been nicknamed "La Barbie," thanks to his good looks.

Beautiful women want to be with him, and back in Texas, kids say they want to be like him.

"Guys like money," said one male high school student who had heard stories about Valdez-Villareal. "They get fame, they get girls, they get houses. They get everything they want."

But on both sides of the border, police are watching La Barbie, too. They say they he is involved in drug smuggling, money laundering and murder.

Experts in narco terrorism told ABC News that the 36-year-old modern day mobster is on the verge of becoming a top boss within a Mexican drug cartel, the first American ever to do so.

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Sicarios of "La Barbie" Captured

15 Suspected Drug Cartel Enforcers Captured in Mexico.

Amacuzac, Morelos - Fifteen individuals suspected of working as hit men for fugitive drug lord Edgar Valdez Villarreal were arrested after a gun battle with Mexican police, the federal Public Safety Secretariat, or SSP, said.

The clash – in which no one was wounded – occurred Friday in the central town of Amacuzac, Morelos state.

That state has been hit by a wave of violence in recent months, including the killing of drug kingpin Arturo Beltran Leyva last December in a shootout with marines in Cuernavaca, Morelos’s capital and main bastion of the Beltran Leyva criminal organization.

The SSP said in a statement that the 15 suspects are “linked to the criminal organization of Edgar Valdez Villarreal,” a former lieutenant of Arturo Beltran Leyva’s who goes by the alias “La Barbie.”

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El Barbie Fighting for Control

US-born capo, drug lord's brother fight for cartel.
Edgar Valdez Villarreal “La Barbie” Joins the War Against Los Zetas.

The Associated Press

Authorities say a U.S.-born hitman is fighting the brother of a deceased drug lord for control of the Beltran-Leyva cartel, marking what may be the first time an American has risen to the very top ranks of Mexican gangs.

Ramon Pequeno, head of the anti-narcotics division of Mexico's federal police, said Tuesday that Texas-born Edgar Valdez Villarreal, nicknamed "La Barbie," is battling Hector Beltran Leyva for control of the Beltran Leyva cartel.

"Right now it appears there is an internal dispute for control of the organization," Pequeno said. "On one side is `La Barbie' and on the other side is Hector Beltran, the natural heir of the organization."

Pequeno said the battle was unleashed when cartel leader Arturo Beltran Leyva died in a shootout with Mexican marines in December. Both men are apparently carrying out killings in bids to take control of the gang, one of Mexico's most powerful.

A previous top drug lord, Juan Garcia Abrego, was expelled to the United States in 1996 for purportedly being a U.S. citizen. But he appeared to have lived all his life in Mexico and reports have raised doubts about whether he was born in Texas, as one birth certificates states.

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"El Barbie" Bodyguards are Detained

Ciudad Ayala, Morelos - Through an official statement issued by the 24th infantry of the Mexican Army, it was reported the arrest of two bodyguards of Edgar Valdes Villarreal, "El Barbie," in the town of Ciudad Ayala, located east of the State of Morelos.

This was accomplished by the Counter-Narcotics Units and  were held on illegal possession of firearms.

The arrest took place on Calle Lázaro Cárdenas in the plaza "Centro" of Ciudad Ayala. The sicarios had been seen in two vehicles with other armed men who were escorting Edgar Valdes Villarreal, "El Barbie."

These individuals were Felipe León Aguilar 55-year-old native of Chietla Puebla and Norberto León Coria native of Ahuehuetzingo Puebla.

They were also found in their possession with a green leafy substance wrapped in newspaper with the characteristics of Marijuana aboard two SUV's models Explorer and Expedition.

Those suspects, drugs and vehicles were made available to the federal prosecutor located in the Plaza of Cuautla, Morelos who will continue the investigation and interrogation of the suspects.

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