Mexican-American Drug Lord 'La Barbie' Changes His Plea to Guilty Daniel Hernandez - VICE News
go to original January 7, 2016

The Mexican-American drug trafficker who rose through the cartel ranks in Mexico and became known as "La Barbie" declared himself guilty of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and money laundering in US federal court.

Edgar Valdez Villarreal, 42, made his admission in a brief "change of plea" hearing in the US District Court in Atlanta.

Valdez, who was captured in 2010 in Mexico and extradited last September, had initially pleaded not guilty to these charges before US district judge William Duffey in October 2015. Judge Duffey also presided over the hearing in which Valdez changed his plea.

The reversal raises the possibility that La Barbie obtained a guarantee of a more lenient sentence, following a method frequently used by US authorities with high-profile drug lords who are taken into US custody. The deal could reflect either the weakness of the prosecution case or a commitment from La Barbie to provide information about other traffickers.

"They flipped him," said Mexican security analyst Alejandro Hope.

The drug boss's attorney, Wilmer "Buddy" Parker, confirmed the change of plea but would not comment on any possible deals. "I'm not commenting on that question at all," he said. "It was represented in court but there is no agreement."

Read the rest at VICE News

Photo: Alexandre Meneghini/AP

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