Major media headlines December 8
In today’s media, CNN’s Don Lemon avoids mentioning court testimony, Jussie Smollett talking about the police, a New York Times reporter berating airline passengers for wearing the wrong masks, and more.
A notorious drug cartel leader and killer suspected of torturing and beheading dozens of victims has disappeared from the federal prison database despite not being released until 2056.
Edgar Valdez-Villareal, 49, who goes by the criminal nickname “La Barbie,” is listed as “not in BOP custody” on the Bureau of Prisons website. The BOP says it released Valdez-Villareal on Nov. 27, although the bureau often lists inmates as “released” when transferred to another group detention facility.
Still, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador last week sought answers about the missing criminal. During the press conference, journalists asked him about the whereabouts of the cartel leader.
“It is very strange what is happening to Mr. Villarreal, who is not registered among those detained in the United States, and we want to know where he is,” Obrador told reporters. “There is no reason for him to leave prison because he has been sentenced to many years unless there is some kind of deal.”
DOG RAISING HIS HAND IN MEXICO STATE More than 50 bags of human remains have been found.
MEXICO CITY – AUGUST 31: Edgar “La Barbie” Valdez Villarreal is shown to the press during a press conference on August 31, 2010 at the Federal Police Center in Mexico City, Mexico. Valdez, a Texas-born drug smuggler and leader of the Beltran Leyva cartel, was captured by Mexican authorities on August 30 in a residential area near Mexico City. (Photo by Daniel Aguilar/Getty Images)
A state police officer from a newly formed elite group is on patrol during a preemptive surprise search in a low-income neighborhood in the Mexican Pacific resort city of Mazatlan. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)
(AP2011)
Valdez-Villarreal was extradited to the United States in 2015 and sentenced to 49 years in prison. He was placed in a facility in Florida.
MAN SAW DOG RUNNING WITH HEAD IN MOUTH IN MEXICO
The BOP did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but a spokesperson told the New York Post that they do not comment on prisoner transfers.
“We do not release specific information about the status of inmates who are not in BOP custody for safety, security or privacy reasons,” the spokesperson said.
Born in Texas, Valdez-Villareal got his nickname from his high school football coach, who thought his blue eyes made him look like a Ken Doll, the Post reported.
Edgar “La Barbie” Valdez Villarreal is shown to the press during a press conference at the Federal Police Center in Mexico City, Mexico on August 31, 2010. Valdez, a Texas-born drug smuggler and leader of the Beltran Leyva cartel, was captured by Mexican authorities on August 30 in a residential area near Mexico City. (Photo by Daniel Aguilar/Getty Images)
The young man soon became involved in organized crime, reportedly working with various drug cartels until joining the Sinaloa cartel under El Chapo. By then, he was known for torturing and beheading his victims, often filming the violence.
He was arrested in 2010 after a shootout with Mexican police that led to his extradition to the United States.