Drug boss 'La Barbie' gets 50 years in prison

atlanta - The American-Mexican drug lord Édgar Valdez Villareal has been sentenced to 49 years and one month in prison in the US. The judge in Atlanta considered 'La Barbie', as the 44-year-old suspect is called because of his fair hair and blue eyes, guilty of large-scale cocaine trafficking and the laundering of enormous amounts.

Valdez Villareal, who also received a fine of around 160 million euros, is behind the bars for the rest of his life, said public prosecutor Byung Jin Pak after the verdict. Other cartel leaders now know what to expect in these kinds of offenses.

The accused was born in the US but made a criminal career in Mexico. Although he cooperated with several syndicates, he is considered one of the leaders of the Beltrán-Leyva cartel. La Barbie was arrested in 2010 and extradited in 2015. He had good contacts with Sinaloa chef Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán and is a possible witness in his trial. That starts in New York in September.

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