Valdez was born and raised in Laredo, Texas. He was a popular high school football player. His nickname La Barbie came from his American football coach at See more

Valdez came to lead the enforcement gang called Los Negros, who were engaged in a territorial dispute in the Nuevo Laredo region against Los Zetas. … See more

On the morning of January 25, 2010, football player Salvador Cabañas was wounded by a gunshot to the head. Through the recording of a CCTV camera, José Jorge ("JJ") Balderas Garza was identified as his attacker. According to his own statements, … See more

Benjamin Yeshurun Sutchi (killed in Mexico by the CJNG gang), a well-known Israeli drug dealer and a major player in the international cocaine business, was wanted by Interpol … See more

Mexican police had been searching for Valdez since his 2002 indictment on two counts of conspiracy with intent to distribute See more

Mexican police said they tracked Valdez across five Mexican states for a year, a pursuit that intensified in the final months as they raided home after home owned by the drug lord, missing him but arresting several of his allies. On August 30, 2010, Valdez was … See more

On September 30, 2015, Valdez Villarreal was extradited to the US along with 12 other criminals, including former high-ranking Gulf Cartel leader Jorge Eduardo Costilla Sánchez. In June 2018 he was sentenced to 49 years in a US federal prison. In … See more