Mexican Judge Arrested by FBI over Ryan Wedding Drug Trafficking Probe, Digi Mart USA News: U.S. agents detained a Mexican judge accused of accepting a $2 million bribe to release a Canadian suspected drug trafficker allegedly working for the network led by former Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding, according to Bloomberg Línea, citing a statement issued Thursday by the U.S.
Department of Justice.
The Justice Department announced the arrest in a statement. Luis Benítez, 49, was detained in Colombia on Sunday.
He faces nine criminal charges in the United States, including helping the alleged trafficker, identified as Andrew Clark, obstruct his arrest. U.S.
authorities described Clark as Wedding’s second-in-command.
The United States will seek Benítez’s extradition from Colombia. He could face up to 15 years in federal prison on each charge, the statement said.
Benítez was a judge at a federal district court in Mexico City. The Mexican Judicial Council, which oversees the court where he worked, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Clark was first detained in October 2024 in Mexico. According to U.S.
prosecutors, he transferred about $2.75 million through intermediaries between November 2024 and February 2025 to secure his release. Benítez freed him on February 24, 2025, the same day he allegedly received the full $2 million.
Days later, Clark was detained again and transferred to U.S. custody.
“Mr. Benítez will be held accountable,” Attorney General Todd Blanche said in the statement.
“The Department of Justice will continue to identify and dismantle transnational criminal organizations that threaten the safety of the American people.”
Last year, the United States offered a $15 million reward for Wedding. The Justice Department has accused his organization of importing about 60 tons of cocaine a year into Los Angeles in trucks from Mexico before moving the contraband north to Canada.
Wedding was detained and transferred to the United States in January. He is scheduled to be tried next year in two separate cases.
