Los Negros
Valdez came to lead the enforcement gang called Los Negros, who were engaged in a territorial dispute in the Nuevo Laredo region against Los Zetas. Los Negros orchestrated kidnappings and recruited operatives, including corrupt police officers, military personnel and federal agents, according to the attorney general's office. While the group was allegedly controlled directly by Valdez, it used to be overseen by the Beltrán-Leyva Cartel.
According to Mexican media reports, shortly after the death of the cartel's leader, Arturo Beltrán Leyva on December 16, 2009, Valdez began to dispute the cartel's leadership and its territory; one faction was led by Valdez and Gerardo Alvarez-Vazquez, while the other is led by Arturo's brother Héctor Beltrán Leyva and his lieutenant Sergio Villarreal Barragán.
In August 2010 four decapitated bodies were found hung from a bridge in Cuernavaca, along with a message warning anyone helping Valdez of a similar fate. Both sides engaged in similarly gruesome tactics intended to warn off the other; over 150 deaths are allegedly linked to the dispute.
U.S. government reports allege that Los Negros have been known to employ local gangs such as MS-13 and Mexican Mafia to carry out murders and other illegal activities.
Read more about this topic: Edgar Valdez Villarreal
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