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Texas native known as 'La Barbie' pleads guilty in Mexico cocaine conspiracy
Source: Associated Press
Texas native known as 'La Barbie' pleads guilty in Mexico cocaine conspiracy
Associated Press in Atlanta
Wednesday 6 January 2016 23.50 GMT
A former Texas high school football player whom authorities say rose from petty street dealer to the top ranks of a Mexican drug cartel was responsible for sending truckloads of cocaine across the border for distribution in the eastern US, prosecutors said.
Edgar Valdez Villarreal, 42, is known as “La Barbie” because of his light eyes and complexion. Mexican police have said they chased him across five Mexican states for a year before they captured him on a ranch outside Mexico City in August 2010. He was among 13 people extradited to the US in September to face charges.
Valdez pleaded guilty in federal court in Atlanta on Wednesday to charges of conspiring to import and distribute cocaine and conspiring to launder money. Prosecutors have said he was responsible for sending thousands of kilograms of cocaine from Mexico for distribution in the eastern US and shipping millions of dollars in cash back to Mexico.
The hearing was held under high security, with at least six armed US marshals in and around the courtroom.
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Associated Press in Atlanta
Wednesday 6 January 2016 23.50 GMT
A former Texas high school football player whom authorities say rose from petty street dealer to the top ranks of a Mexican drug cartel was responsible for sending truckloads of cocaine across the border for distribution in the eastern US, prosecutors said.
Edgar Valdez Villarreal, 42, is known as “La Barbie” because of his light eyes and complexion. Mexican police have said they chased him across five Mexican states for a year before they captured him on a ranch outside Mexico City in August 2010. He was among 13 people extradited to the US in September to face charges.
Valdez pleaded guilty in federal court in Atlanta on Wednesday to charges of conspiring to import and distribute cocaine and conspiring to launder money. Prosecutors have said he was responsible for sending thousands of kilograms of cocaine from Mexico for distribution in the eastern US and shipping millions of dollars in cash back to Mexico.
The hearing was held under high security, with at least six armed US marshals in and around the courtroom.
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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jan/06/texas-mexico-la-barbie-cocaine-conspiracy