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 has 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 Nov. 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," 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
Edgar Valdez-Villarreal is shown to the press during a news conference at the federal police center in Mexico City on Aug. 31, 2010. (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)
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
"We can confirm, this individual has not escaped from Bureau of Prisons (BOP) custody," a BOP spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
"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 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. (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.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Valdez-Villareal was ultimately taken into custody after a firefight with Mexican police in 2010, leading to his extradition to the U.S.
The hottest stories ripped from the headlines, from crime to courts, legal and scandal.
