Kash Patel’s Social Media Obsession Damages Another Major FBI Operation

After an operation to catch former Olympian turned drug trafficker Ryan Wedding on Mexican soil, FBI Director Kash Patel publicly revealed the FBI’s role in Wedding’s apprehension, despite both countries keeping information on his arrest under wraps.

Patel’s post on X bluntly stated that Wedding was taken into custody in Mexico and was being transported to the United States to face charges, revealing the FBI’s involvement. “Ryan James Wedding was taken into custody in Mexico last night. He is being transported from Mexico to the U.S. via FBI FTOC to face justice,” Patel wrote last week.

Ryan Wedding, a former Canadian Olympic snowboarder turned alleged drug trafficking kingpin, has been on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list since March 2025. U.S. authorities accuse him of leading a transnational narcotics operation tied to hundreds of kilograms of cocaine, and of ordering multiple murders. He is currently pleading not guilty to the charges brought against him.

The U.S. Department of Justice and FBI maintain that the arrest was the result of a coordinated operation involving a U.S. Hostage Rescue Team and Mexican security forces, even as details were kept confidential. Reports suggest that the operation was thorough and involved elite FBI units, sparking diplomatic unease precisely because foreign law enforcement activity on Mexican territory is highly sensitive under domestic sovereignty laws.

Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, and officials initially portrayed Wedding’s surrender as voluntary. She insisted that he presented himself at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City before being delivered to American custody. They have repeatedly denied that U.S. agents were present in an operational capacity during the arrest itself, framing the process as led by Mexican authorities in line with national legal norms.

Adding to the confusion, Mexico’s government touted an image of Wedding outside the U.S. Embassy on social media as evidence of a voluntary surrender. Some outlets, including El País, reported scrutiny over the authenticity of related images, with broadcasters questioning whether at least one widely circulated photo was artificially generated.

Wedding’s lawyer, Anthony Colombo, has seized on the divergent statements to challenge aspects of the arrest. Colombo argues the disclosure may reveal procedural irregularities and undermine the narrative that Wedding voluntarily surrendered, reinforcing his contention that the arrest was an involuntary detention rather than a negotiated handover to embassy officials.

This isn’t the first time Patel has compromised an FBI operation from his social media habits. Just hours after the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk in September, the FBI Director posted that “the subject for the horrific shooting today that took the life of Charlie Kirk is now in custody.”

But within about 90 minutes, Patel’s claim had to be corrected: the individual initially identified and questioned was released by law enforcement after investigators determined they were not the shooter. The FBI later clarified that multiple individuals were being interviewed but no confirmed suspect was in custody at that time.

Patel later defended his messaging choices during a widely reported Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on September 16, 2025, where he faced questioning over his conduct. According to reporting, Patel argued that he was attempting to maintain transparency with the public but acknowledged that initial information in fast-moving investigations is often incomplete.

An anonymous insider quoted in a New York Times article attributed Patel’s reaction to the assassination news with reportedly saying, “I am gonna tweet this,” though that account was labeled a “fake narrative” by FBI spokespeople. The source claimed that in the wake of Kirk’s murder, Patel prioritized future social media posts on the situation rather than officials on the situation.

The same month, three former agents filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, claiming that they were fired from the Bureau purely for political reasons. The documents surrounding the complaint alleged that Patel urged agents to be more active online to celebrate “FBI wins.”