“La Barbie” | Edgar Valdez Villarreal Mexican Drug Lord Captured

“La Barbie” |  Edgar Valdez Villarreal Mexican Drug Lord Captured

Mexican authorities have announced that they have have captured “La Barbie” Edgar Valdez Villarreal, a U.S.-born criminal with a long career leading the nation’s drug cartels.

He was nabbed Monday in a second big coup for President Felipe Calderon in his battle against murderous trafficking cartels. He was taken alive.

“It’s a key success. What is very good is that they didn’t kill him. That makes a big difference,” independent security analyst Alberto Islas said of Valdez’s arrest.

But Valdez’s capture may be seen as an even bigger win for Calderon as Valdez could be extradited to the United States, where he has a $2 million bounty on his head.

Federal police caught Valdez, a leader of the Beltran Leyva gang based in central Mexico, in a house in a residential area on the edge of the state of Morelos, near Mexico City, a police spokesman told Reuters. He said Valdez put up little resistance.

An official with the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) confirmed the arrest, but said she was not authorized to give further details.

Mexican newspapers reported Valdez was arrested by federal police close to the border between southern Mexican states Morelos and Guerrero.

Valdez had worked for the Sinaloa Cartel and its breakaway group the Beltrn Leyva cartel, which was dismantled in a recent police operation.

He is also wanted by a federal court in southern U.S. city Atlanta for smuggling thousands of kilograms of cocaine into the U.S. soil between 2004 and 2006.

The arrest of such high-profile and public figure in the Mexican drug-trafficking scene is a huge success for the Mexican government on both a tactical and public relations level.

Calderon is struggling with growing alarm in Mexico and abroad over his drug war, which has sparked vicious turf battles between rival gangs that have killed more than 28,000 people, mainly traffickers and police, in the 3-1/2 years he has been in power.

Valdez Villarreal has been locked in heated battle with his former colleague, Hector “El H” Beltran Leyva, for control over the territory once occupied by the Beltran Leyva Organization under now-deceased leader Arturo Beltran Leyva.

Additionally, the detention of Valdez Villarreal also will provide Mexican authorities with a treasure trove of timely, actionable tactical intelligence about his organization’s operations, which could lead to more arrests in the near future.

Furthermore, should Valdez Villarreal choose to cooperate with Mexican authorities, he could provide an enormous amount of information about rival organizations as well.

The arrest of Valdez Villarreal also comes at a time when President Felipe Calderon’s war against the cartels has been drawing some negative attention due to the high levels of violence and a recent, ominous escalation in tactics over the past week with increased use of improvised explosive devices.

Valdez Villarreal was well known for his ruthlessness and brutality in dealing with his rivals, and his arrest will be a public relations coup for the Mexican government even though it will do little to quell the violence in places like Juarez and Monterrey.

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Mexico captures U.S.-born drug lord known as La Barbie’ Edgar Valdez Villarreal, also known by the improbable nickname of “La Barbie,” was seized by federal police agents Monday afternoon in the state of Mexico, … 

Mexico arrests ‘La Barbie,’ accused drug lord wanted by U.S. Edgar Valdez-Villarreal, 37, was captured in the state of Mexico adjacent to the capital, the Foro and Milenio television networks reported. …