HispanicBusiness

La Barbie, the street name for Mexican drug lord Edgar Valdez Villarreal, has been arrested in Mexico City on charges of drug trafficing and multiple offenses related to the smuggling of thousands of pounds of cocaine per month in support of a voracious U.S. appetite for the controlled substance.

Given the nickname "La Barbie" because of his blonde hair and blue eyes, Villarreal was born in Laredo, Tex., but moved to Mexico to make a name for himself in the lucrative drug trade there. A high school football star, Villarreal began his drug career during high school, when he sold marijuana on the streets of Laredo.

According to law enforcement sources, he rose through the ranks because of his ruthless style of eliminating his competitors through intimidation and murder.

Villarreal was arrested in a suburb of Mexico City, where he was hiding with four of his associates, one of whom was killed in a shootout with local police.

Villarreal was part of the Sinaloa Cartel before the cartel's leader was killed in another police shootout. He is also thought to be head of the Los Negros crime syndicate, an enforcement group responsible for multiple murders and other vicious attacks throughout Mexico and the border region.

There has been no word on whether Villarreal will be extradited to the U.S., where he holds citizenship.