Pubdate: Sat, 11 Sep 2010
Source: Wall Street Journal (US)
Copyright: 2010 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.wsj.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/487
Author: Jose de Cordoba

MEXICO DRUG SUSPECT SEEKS U.S. JUSTICE

In Rare Request, Defense Lawyer For Alleged Kingpin 'La Barbie,' A Texas
Native, Asks Americans To Pursue Deportation

MEXICO CITY - Edgar Valdez Villareal, a U.S.-born alleged drug lord
who was captured in Mexico last week, wants to return to his roots in
Texas to face trial rather than stay in a Mexican jail, his lawyer
said.

Mr. Valdez, called "La Barbie" in Mexico for his green eyes and sandy
colored hair, has a reputation for beheading opponents in Mexico's
violent drug wars. He fears that he will get killed in a Mexican
prison, according to Kent Schaffer, his Houston-based lawyer.

Mr. Schaffer asked U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Carlos Pascual to appeal
to the Mexican government to deport Mr. Valdez to the U.S., where he
faces charges of drug trafficking.

"I am formally requesting that you petition the Mexican Government to
deport Mr. Valdez back to the United States as soon as possible," said
the letter, dated Sept. 8, a copy of which was viewed by The Wall
Street Journal. "It is my belief that as long as he is incarcerated in
Mexico, his life is in danger from other prisoners and, possibly from
the Mexican authorities."

Mr. Valdez denies all charges against him, and denies that he was
responsible for any beheadings, Mr. Schaffer said.

A spokesman for the U.S. Embassy said it deferred to the Mexican
government on the deportation issue. A spokeswoman for the U.S.
Justice Department wouldn't comment specifically on Mr. Schaffer's
request. "We are working with our colleagues in Mexico to ensure La
Barbie faces justice in a courtroom," she said.

Mr. Valdez is being held for a 40-day period while Mexican police
investigate charges against him. Mexican officials say they will
decide later on whether he will face charges in Mexico or whether he
will be deported to the U.S., where he faces charges of trafficking
tons of cocaine in Georgia, Texas and Louisiana.

A spokeswoman for the office of Mexico's attorney general said Mr.
Valdez is being held at federal police headquarters, where he is safe.

The deportation request is an unusual one in the history of Latin
American drug trafficking. In the 1980s, Colombian drug lord Pablo
Escobar led a bombing campaign against the government there partly to
avoid being sent to the U.S. More recently, scores of Mexican drug
traffickers have been forcibly extradited to the U.S.

Mr. Valdez, 37 years old, is the first major suspected Mexican drug
lord captured alive since his former boss, Arturo Beltran Leyva, known
as the "Boss of Bosses," was killed in a gunbattle with Mexican
marines in December. Ignacio Coronel, a leading figure in the Sinaloa
Cartel, died in a gunfight with Mexican soldiers in July.

Since Mr. Valdez has worked with most of Mexico's top drug barons,
including the country's most powerful trafficker, Joaquin "El Chapo"
Guzman, he could provide officials with valuable intelligence,
analysts say.

Mr. Schaffer said "we have no plans to cut any kind of deal" with the
U.S.

Born and raised in the border city of Laredo, Texas, Mr. Valdez was a
high-school football standout who went on to become one of Mexico's
most-wanted criminals.

Mr. Valdez's deportation would raise the possibility that the alleged
drug lord could cut a deal for a reduced sentence with U.S.
authorities in exchange for information.

"It's quite obvious that the U.S. government would have a great
interest in getting assistance and cooperation of a high-level member
of the Mexican mafia," says Ruben Oliva, a Miami-based defense lawyer
for some high-level drug traffickers. "There is a very high
expectation that this one is one of the first guys who will step up
and do the right thing."

Speed is of the essence, as the Mexican prison system is notoriously
dangerous and Mr. Valdez has a lot of enemies, says Mr. Oliva. "La
Barbie is in an incredible amount of danger of getting killed in a
Mexican prison," says Mr. Oliva. "The sooner you put him in a
situation where he can cooperate, the fresher the information will
be."

Two weeks ago, Jose Luis Carrizales, who like Mr. Valdez was an
alleged enforcer for the Sinaloa cartel, was killed just hours after
being transferred to the penitentiary in the border city of Nuevo
Laredo, which is largely controlled by a rival drug gang known as the
Zetas.

Controversy has swirled around Mr. Valdez since his arrest last week.
He startled many Mexicans by smiling during his presentation to
reporters in Mexico's version of the "perp walk." Many newspaper and
TV commentators speculated that the smile suggested Mr. Valdez hadn't
been captured, as the government says, but voluntarily surrendered in
exchange for a lighter sentence. Conflicting versions of Mr. Valdez's
capture have fed the controversy. Mexican media, basing their accounts
on a police report, said Mr. Valdez was arrested after federal police
pulled over his three-car convoy for speeding. According to this
account, the police didn't know who they had stopped until Mr. Valdez
got out, identified himself and surrendered.

The official government version, sketchy on details, said Mr. Valdez
was captured after his rural estate was surrounded by federal police
in the culmination of a yearlong search.

Mr. Schaffer, Mr. Valdez's lawyer, denies that his client turned
himself in. Mr. Schaffer says Mexican police pressured a close
acquaintance of Mr. Valdez to send him a text message urgently
requesting a meeting. When Mr. Valdez showed up at the spot, he was
surrounded by police and had no choice but to surrender. "And that was
the end," Mr. Schaffer said. 
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