Mexican judge accused of taking $2M bribe to release Ryan Wedding’s right-hand man

A Mexican judge has been arrested on allegations that he accepted a $2-million bribe in exchange for granting bail to a man accused of acting as second-in-command to Ryan Wedding, the former Canadian Olympic snowboarder turned alleged drug kingpin, American officials said Thursday.

The U.S. Department of Justice said Luis Benitez Alcantara is accused of using his official position to unlawfully secure the release of Andrew Clark, a 36-year-old Canadian man alleged to play a key role in a violent international drug trafficking ring.

Benitez Alcantara, 49, was arrested on Sunday in Colombia and a request will be made for his extradition, U.S. officials said.

He was arrested on a nine-count federal indictment and, if convicted, could face a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison for each count, they said.

“Crooked public officials, no matter where they are, who assist drug traffickers operating here at home will face justice in the United States,” U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a news release.

Clark was first arrested in Mexico in October 2024, on U.S. charges of drug trafficking, murder and attempted murder, the release said. Wedding was also named on the charges.

The following month, American officials formally requested that Clark be extradited to face prosecution in the U.S., the release said.

From then through February 2025, it’s alleged Clark transferred about $2.75 million in small increments and through intermediaries in a bid to be freed from Mexican custody.

Officials allege Clark also struck a deal to pay Benitez Alcantara, the district judge overseeing his extradition proceedings, about $2 million in exchange for ordering his release.

It’s alleged Benitez Alcantara granted him bond and ordered his release in February of last year, on the same day he allegedly received the bribe.

Clark was arrested again days later and taken to the United States, where his criminal case is pending.

Wedding, meanwhile, was arrested in Mexico in January of this year and taken to the United States to face drug trafficking, murder, and attempted murder charges. He remains in federal custody awaiting two trials in March and October of next year.

The Thunder Bay, Ont., native had been on the run for years and eventually joined the FBI’s Top 10 most-wanted list, with a $15-million reward for information leading to his capture.

Authorities allege he ordered the murders of several people, including a witness who could testify against him in a 2024 narcotics case.

FBI Director Kash Patel has alleged that Wedding is “the largest narco trafficker in modern times.”

Eight people were also arrested in Canada a year ago as part of the U.S. investigation into Wedding.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2026.

Paola Loriggio, The Canadian Press