The Associated Press: Suspected US-born drug smuggler charged in Atlanta: "Edgar Valdez Villarreal, who is known as 'La Barbie,' and five others were charged with conspiring to import and distribute cocaine and plotting to launder money. Authorities are offering a reward of up to $2 million for information leading to Villarreal's capture.
Authorities say Villarreal has become one of Mexico's most elusive drug kingpins, and the 36-year-old's mystique has grown partly because he was born in Laredo, Texas. Rodney Benson, the special agent in charge of Atlanta's Drug Enforcement Administration office, said the case 'strikes directly at the core of Mexican drug cartel leadership.'
Villarreal belonged to the notorious Sinaloa drug cartel in Mexico before one of its leaders split and established his own cartel, according to the indictment. Authorities say he is now battling for control and Mexican authorities have found decapitated and mangled bodies they believe are victims of the ongoing fight.
Prosecutors say they used a federal wiretap of a related case in Atlanta in January 2008 to identify Villarreal as the source of thousands of kilograms of cocaine that were imported into the U.S. from 2004 to 2006."
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