News outlets in Mexico and some in the U.S. are pushing conspiracy theories about a Mexican drug lord jailed in Florida had been mysteriously released. “La Barbie,” who remains in U.S. custody, is not scheduled for release until 2056.
The trend began in late November when the Reforma wire service first published a story claiming Edgar “La Barbie” Valdez Villarreal had been released from a federal prison in Florida. That initial story was republished by the San Diego Union-Tribune and was quickly picked up by all major news outlets in Mexico. The New York Post and the UK Mirror also published similar stories. A vague story by CNN further fueled hysteria in Mexico.
The issue sparked considerable controversy in Mexico, leading to speculation and conspiracy theories regarding a release. In recent days, Mexico’s Foreign Relations Minister Marcelo Ebrard addressed the issue, explaining that if he was to be released, an accord between the U.S. and Mexico called for advance notice.
The basis of the story was the search feature of the U.S. Bureau of Prisons website. The feature showed that Valdez was not in the custody of the Bureau, but also listed his release date as “07/27/2056.”
A spokesman for the U.S. Bureau of Prisons would not specifically address the case of La Barbie, citing security and privacy concerns, but revealed that inmates can be moved for various reasons.
When inmates are moved to and from court hearings, they are technically under the custody of the U.S. Marshals as opposed to the Bureau of Prisons.
One of the possible reasons for La Barbie being moved deals with the upcoming trial of Mexico’s former top law enforcement official, Public Safety Secretary Genaro Garcia Luna. The former head of Mexican federal law enforcement is expected to go to trial in January on drug conspiracy and money laundering offenses from an indictment claiming that he used his position to help cartels move drugs and secure new territories. Pundits in Mexico have speculated that La Barbie could be a potential witness in the trial, however, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Marshals Service did not respond to queries about the case.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.
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