MEXICO CITY (August 31, 2010)--A Laredo-born fugitive known as "the Barbie," who’s accused of leading a violent smuggling network, grinned as he was paraded in handcuffs before reporters Tuesday in Mexico.

Edgar Valdez Villarreal, who got his nickname from his fair complexion, is wanted in the U.S. for allegedly smuggling tons of cocaine.

In Mexico, he's blamed for a turf war during which bodies were hung from bridges, decapitations and shootouts as he and a rival fought for control of the divided Beltran Leyva cartel.

As he was paraded before reporters, he still wore the green polo shirt in which he was captured the day before.

He grinned often as police described a high-flying and violent life.

Security forces had been closing in on Valdez for more than a year.

The biggest breakthrough in the search was the death of his boss, Arturo Beltran Leyva, in a shootout with marines in December.

In May, Valdez was charged, in U.S. District Court in Atlanta, with distributing thousands of pounds of cocaine from Mexico to the eastern U.S. from 2004 to 2006.