Mexico Seeks Answers As Cartel Boss Nicknamed ‘La Barbie’ Missing From US Prison

After news that notorious drug cartel boss "La Barbie" has gone missing from the United States prison system, the Mexican government on Tuesday is urging the former to reveal his whereabouts.

"La Barbie," legally known as Edgar Valdez Villarreal, was a drug trafficker with ties to other cartel bosses like Joaquin Guzman-Loera, also known as El Chapo. He would traffic marijuana and cocaine using speedboats from South American countries to the U.S. and was an in-demand hitman and enforcer in the cartel world, CNN reported.

The man also ended up starting a war between the Sinaloa Cartel which he worked for and the Gulf Cartel and Zetas in Mexico. He was captured in Mexico in 2010 before being extradited to the U.S., where he was sentenced to 49 years in prison for his crimes.

The Bureau of Prisons admitted recently that "La Barbie" is apparently not being housed in a U.S. prison any longer, refusing to share what might be the case for him due to the policy of the institution, according to CBS News. “Inmates who were previously in BOP custody and who have not completed their sentence may be outside BOP custody for a period of time for court hearings, medical treatment or for other reasons,” a statement shared with the press said.

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador admitted as well in a recent news conference that he doesn’t know where "La Barbie" is, and is urging the U.S. to share his whereabouts as well as why he was taken off the country's prison registry. “If he is not in prison, you have to see the agreement they made with him because his sentence was for several years. Here in Mexico, there are also complaints filed against him,” he said.

The Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office has not shared information to the media regarding La Barbie’s whereabouts. His lawyer Wilmer “Buddy” Parker also said that he did not know about any possible release for his client.