Tuesday, August 31, 2010

¿De qué se ríe La Barbie?


Mexico captured a big fish yesterday, Texas born Edgar Valdez Villareal, inexplicably nicknamed 'La Barbie'. Once a top deputy to Arturo Beltran Leyva, who was killed by the military last year, La Barbie has been duking it out with Beltran Leyva's brother, Hector, for control of the cartel. This rivalry has put Cuernavaca and parts of Guerrero in the cross-hairs of a factional battle and has gripped the region with fear and death.

La Barbie's henchman are linked to the horrendous massacre of the family of the sole marine killed in the operation that took down Beltran Leyva last December.

One thing to note is that Calderon's government has been criticized for picking winners or cutting deals when battles for cartel control spin into the public sphere with awful repercussions for innocent victims. For instance, was Ignacio Villareal, a top deputy of 'El Chapo' Guzman killed in exchange for lessened violence in Sinaloa? Does the capture of La Barbie mean that Hector Beltran Leyva can rest easy and move his product without a meddlesome rival?

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