Mexican Judge Arrested in Colombia on U.S. Bribery Charges

A Mexican judge accused of taking a $2 million bribe to release a suspected cocaine trafficker was arrested in Colombia on Sunday. Luis Benítez Alcántara faces nine U.S. charges of acting as an accessory after the fact.

U.S. prosecutors allege that Benítez accepted the money from Canadian national Ryan Clark, whom authorities describe as a senior figure in the international drug network allegedly run by former Olympic snowboarder Ryan J. Wedding.

Benítez was a district judge in Mexico City. FBI Director Kash Patel said he allegedly took the bribe in exchange for granting Clark bond and ordering his release while Wedding’s organization was trafficking cocaine across several countries.

Clark was arrested in Guadalajara, Mexico, on Oct. 8, 2024. The following day, he appeared before Benítez in extradition proceedings after the United States requested his extradition.

According to the indictment, Clark sent about $2.75 million to intermediaries over four months, starting in November 2024. On Feb. 24, 2025, Benítez allegedly received $2 million through those intermediaries and granted Clark bond and release.

Mexican law enforcement arrested Clark again days later and transferred him to U.S. authorities on Feb. 27. He later provided FBI and U.S. officials with information about his own role and Wedding’s alleged criminal operation, prosecutors say.

Clark and Wedding face charges including murder, conspiracy to distribute cocaine and continuing a criminal enterprise. If convicted, Benítez could receive up to 15 years in federal prison.

Attorney General Todd Blanche said U.S. authorities would pursue public officials who allegedly help drug traffickers, regardless of where those officials are located. He also credited a joint effort involving the Homeland Security Task Force and international law enforcement partners.

Wedding, who was on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list, was arrested in Mexico in January 2026. Prosecutors allege his organization brought most of the illicit cocaine entering Canada into the country and that he arranged the killings of informants and others connected to the operation.

Wedding pleaded not guilty in January to charges including running a criminal enterprise, murder and conspiring to distribute cocaine. The indictment alleges that his network worked with Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel to move cocaine through Colombia, Mexico and elsewhere in North America.