Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said the FBI was not involved in the arrest of Ryan Wedding, a former Canadian Olympian with cartel ties, who turned himself in on Thursday in the country after over a decade on the run.
Sheinbaum clarified that FBI Director Kash Patel was in the country two days after Wedding turned himself in, but not with the purpose of catching the man, who was on the agency’s most wanted list.
“He had been planning to come to Mexico for a while and have a series of meetings as part of this security understanding that we had discussed,” Sheinbaum said. She added that Wedding turned himself in at the U.S. embassy in the country after anticipating so on his social media account.
“To the media and my followers: After seeking guarantees for a fair trial, I’ve decided to voluntarily turn myself in to the authorities,” Wedding said in the Instagram post. “Thank you for your messages this week. They gave me great consolation after taking the step. I am fully confident that the truth will come out and set me free,” Wedding added.
Patel reacted to the development with a statement, saying that Wedding “went from an Olympic snowboarder to the largest narco-trafficker in modern times.” “He is a modern-day El Chapo, he is a modern-day Pablo Escobar, and he thought he could evade justice,” he added. The FBI was offering $15 million for information leading to Wedding’s arrest and/or prosecution.
The DOJ had unveiled new charges against Wedding last November, alleging that he ordered the killing of a witness who was set to testify against him in a federal drug-trafficking case. The killing took place in January at a restaurant in Colombia, according to U.S. Attorney for the Central District of Los Angeles Bill Essayli.
“Wedding collaborates closely with the Sinaloa Cartel, a foreign terrorist organization, to flood not only American but also Canadian communities with cocaine coming from Colombia,” Bondi added..
Wedding competed in the men’s parallel giant slalom event for Canada at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, finishing in 24th place.
Wedding faces several charges in the U.S. Along with accomplice Andrew Clark, he was indicted in California in June 2024 on charges including running a continuing criminal enterprise, murder in connection with the enterprise, and conspiracy to distribute and export cocaine. Clark was arrested in October 2023 by Mexican authorities and was among 29 fugitives extradited to the U.S. in November.
Originally published on Latin Times
