Barbie: what does the name conjure up? Blonde dolls, pink toys, gender stereotypes in a patriarchal society and the indoctrination of warped beauty standards? Shut up Meg. But you might not associate it with one of Mexico’s most murderous drug lords in recent history. Today, we bring you the story of La Barbie. To date, he is the only US citizen known to have moved so high up in Mexico’s notorious drug cartels. Don’t forget to support our channel for more content like this. Ladies and gentlemen, Edgar Valdez Villarreal aka La Barbie.
Valdez was born in August 1973 into a normal, loving family on the outskirts of Laredo, Texas. Growing up, he was quite a popular kid. He was a talented football player, and his friends and teammates remember him as a charming and fun-loving guy. He enjoyed a prank and liked to goof around in locker-rooms. His football coach started calling him Ken for his fair skin and blonde hair, despite his Mexican origins. Then when Valdez’s school friends went on to calling him Barbie, the name stuck with him for life.
In his mid to late teens, he developed a penchant for petty crime. With friends, he’d drive out of town to rustle cows before selling them to the highest bidder. After graduating high school, he started to sell marijuana at night. Once money started rolling in, his lifestyle changed: he hung out with different crowds and partied more, spending lavishly on alcohol and designer clothes. Before long, he’d also ramped up his business - smuggling weed from Mexico into the US and taking advantage of Laredo’s lax security checks on the border. It was around this time that Valdez, aged 19, was arrested and charged with criminally negligent homicide for running over a middle-school counselor with his truck.
