By ERIC TUCKER, ALANNA DURKIN RICHER, MIKE BALSAMO and AMY TAXIN Associated Press
ONTARIO, Calif. (AP) — Former Canadian Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding, a top FBI fugitive, was arrested in Mexico and on Friday was flown to the U.S. to face charges related to running a multinational drug trafficking ring and the killing of a federal witness.
FBI Director Kash Patel said the capture of Wedding, 44, resulted from a manhunt by U.S. investigators who worked with authorities in Mexico, Canada, Colombia and the Dominican Republic for more than a year.
Wedding was previously convicted in the U.S. of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and was sentenced to prison in 2010, federal records show. After his release from prison, federal prosecutors in 2024 charged Wedding with running a drug ring. Prosecutors said they believed he was working under the protection of the Sinaloa Cartel, one of Mexico’s most powerful drug rings.
Officials say he orchestrated several killings and used semitrucks to move cocaine between Colombia, Mexico, Southern California and Canada. Authorities said his aliases included “El Jefe,” “Public Enemy” and “James Conrad Kin.”
“He’s the modern-day El Chapo. He is the modern-day Pablo Escobar,” Patel told a news conference in California, comparing him to the legendary former Sinaloa cartel kingpin Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, who is imprisoned in the U.S. after pleading guilty to drug trafficking charges.
Wedding was apprehended Thursday night in Mexico City, Patel said. U.S. authorities believe Wedding — who competed for his home country in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City — had been hiding in Mexico for more than a decade.
Patel praised Mexico’s government and “global partnerships” for their roles in the operation.
“When you go after a guy like Ryan Wedding, it takes a united front, and that’s what you’re seeing here,” said Patel, who declined to give details about the arrest.
Wedding was on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, and authorities had offered a $15 million reward for information leading to his arrest and conviction. He is expected to appear in federal court Monday, said Akil Davis, assistant director in charge of the FBI field office in Los Angeles.
Davis said 36 people have been arrested in connection with the drug ring Wedding is accused of running, and authorities seized large volumes of drugs, weapons and cash, as well as millions of dollars worth of automobiles, motorcycles, artwork and jewelry from Wedding and others charged in the case. Rewards of up to $2 million are available for information leading to additional arrests and convictions.
Mexico’s Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch wrote Friday on X that a Canadian citizen had turned himself in at the U.S. embassy. A member of Mexico’s Security Cabinet told The Associated Press that individual was Wedding. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Patel identified a second apprehended fugitive as Alejandro Rosales Castillo, a 27-year-old U.S. citizen charged with murder in the 2016 killing of a North Carolina woman. He also faces a federal charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. According to the FBI, Castillo was arrested a week ago in Mexico.
Olympic records show Wedding participated in a single men’s snowboarding event, parallel giant slalom, finishing 24th at the 2002 Games.
In November, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that Wedding had also been indicted on charges of orchestrating the killing of a witness in Colombia to help him avoid extradition to the U.S.
Authorities said Wedding and co-conspirators used a Canadian website called “The Dirty News” to post a photograph of the witness so he could be identified and killed. The witness was then followed to a restaurant in Medellín in January and shot in the head.
Wedding faces separate drug trafficking charges in Canada that date back to 2015, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
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Tucker, Durkin Richer and Balsamo reported from Washington. Associated Press journalist Fabiola Sánchez in Mexico City contributed to this story.