Media top headlines December 8
In media news today, CNN’s Don Lemon avoids mentioning court testimony that he tipped Jussie Smollett off about police, a New York Times reporter scolds airline travelers for faulty mask-wearing, and more.
A notorious drug cartel leader and hitman suspected of torturing and decapitating dozens of victims have vanished from the federal prison database, despite not being up for release until 2056.
Edgar Valdez-Villareal, a 49-year-old who goes by the criminal moniker “La Barbie,” is listed as “not in BOP custody” on the Bureau of Prisons website. The BOP says it released Valdez-Villareal on November 27, although the bureau frequently lists inmates as “released” when they have been transferred to the custody of another group.
Nevertheless, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador sought answers about the missing criminal last week. Reporters asked him about the cartel leader’s whereabouts during a press conference.
“It’s very strange what is going on in the United States with Mr. Villareal, who is no longer registered among those in custody, and we want to know where he is,” said Obrador told reporters. “There is no reason for him to leave prison because he was condemned to many years unless there was some kind of an agreement.”
DOG CARRYING SEVERED HAND LEADS TO MORE THAN 50 BAGS OF HUMAN REMAINS FOUND IN MEXICAN STATE
MEXICO CITY – AUGUST 31: Edgar “La Barbie” Valdez Villarreal is shown to the press during a news conference at the federal police center August 31, 2010 in Mexico City, Mexico. Valdez, a Texas-born drug smuggler and leader in the Beltran Leyva cartel, was captured August 30 by Mexican authorities in a residential area near Mexico City. (Photo by Daniel Aguilar/Getty Images)
A state police officer belonging to a newly-formed elite group participates in a patrol during a preventive surprise search at a low-income neighborhood in the Pacific resort city of Mazatlan, Mexico. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)
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Valdez-Villareal was extradited to the U.S. in 2015 and sentenced to 49 years in prison. He was being housed at a facility in Florida.
DOG SPOTTED IN MEXICO RUNNING WITH HUMAN HEAD IN ITS MOUTH
The BOP did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital, but a spokesman told the New York Post they do not comment on prisoner transfers.
“We do not provide specific information on the status of inmates who are not in the custody of the BOP for safety, security or privacy reasons,” the spokesman told the outlet.
Born in Texas, Valdez-Villareal got his nickname from a high school football coach who thought his blue eyes made him look like a Ken doll, according to the Post.
Edgar “La Barbie” Valdez Villarreal is shown to the press during a news conference at the federal police center August 31, 2010 in Mexico City, Mexico. Valdez, a Texas-born drug smuggler and leader in the Beltran Leyva cartel, was captured August 30 by Mexican authorities in a residential area near Mexico City. (Photo by Daniel Aguilar/Getty Images)
The young man soon got involved in organized crime, reportedly working with various drug cartels until he joined the Sinaloa cartel under El Chapo. By that time, he had already become notorious for torturing and decapitating his victims, often filming the violence.
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He was ultimately taken into custody after a firefight with Mexican police in 2010, leading to his extradition to the U.S.
