LOS ANGELES – A Mexican judge has been arrested on a nine-count federal indictment charging him with accepting a $2 million bribe in exchange for granting bond to and ordering the release of a Canadian drug trafficker who was the second-in-command to a former Olympic snowboarder charged with leading a transnational cocaine trafficking operation and with murder and attempted murder, the Justice Department announced today.
Luis Benítez Alcántara, 49, of Mexico City, was arrested on Sunday in Colombia.
He is charged in a second superseding indictment with nine counts of being an accessory after the fact. The United States will request Benítez’s extradition from Colombia.
“Crooked public officials, no matter where they are, who assist drug traffickers operating here at home will face justice in the United States,” said Attorney General Todd Blanche. “Thanks to the work of the Homeland Security Task Force and our international law enforcement partners, Mr. Benítez will be held accountable. The Department of Justice will continue identifying and dismantling transnational criminal organizations that threaten the safety of the American people.”
“This case underscores my office’s commitment to dismantling criminal organizations at every level, including by holding accountable those who abuse positions of public trust,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli.
“The FBI and our partners have arrested Luis Benítez Alcántara, a Mexican judge who allegedly accepted bribes and used his position to aid former FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitive Ryan Wedding and his associates,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “Benítez Alcántara was a district judge in Mexico City who allegedly accepted $2 million in exchange for granting bond to and ordering the release of Wedding’s second in command, while Wedding was orchestrating a billion-dollar transnational criminal organization and the largest supplier of cocaine to Canada with connections in Colombia, Mexico, and the U.S. Benítez Alcántara is charged with nine counts of accessory after the fact for assisting the individual in order to hinder or prevent his apprehension, trial or punishment. Thanks to FBI Los Angeles, our Bogatá Law Enforcement Attaché, our local partners, and our Department of Justice who made the success of this operation possible.”
According to the superseding indictment returned on September 4, Benítez used his official position to unlawfully secure Clark’s release, enabling a major figure in an international drug organization to evade lawful detention. In return for the $2 million bribe payment, Benítez issued rulings that directly facilitated the release from custody of Andrew Clark, 36, a Canadian drug trafficker and second-in-command to Ryan James Wedding, 44, a former Olympic snowboarder for Canada who led one of the biggest, most notorious, and violent transnational criminal organizations.
In October 2024, Clark was arrested in Mexico on U.S. drug trafficking, murder, and attempted murder charges in which Wedding also was named. Following his arrest, Clark appeared before Benítez, then serving as the district judge in Mexico City responsible for overseeing Clark’s extradition proceedings.
In November 2024, the United States formally requested Clark’s extradition to face prosecution in the United States. From November 2024 through February 2025, Clark transferred approximately $2.75 million, through intermediaries and in small increments, for the purpose of securing his release from Mexican custody. During this period, Clark also negotiated an agreement to pay Benítez approximately $2 million in exchange for ordering his release.
On February 24, 2025, the same day Benítez received the full $2 million bribe payment, he granted Clark bond and ordered him released. Days later, Clark was re‑arrested and removed to the United States, where the criminal case against him remains pending.
Wedding, who, at the time, was one of the FBI’s Top Ten Most Wanted Fugitives, was apprehended in Mexico in January 2026 and subsequently, removed to the United States, where he remains in federal custody. He faces drug‑trafficking, murder, and attempted murder charges and is currently scheduled for two separate trials on March 31, 2027, and October 26, 2027.
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.
If convicted, Benítez would face a statutory maximum sentence of 15 years in federal prison on each count.
The FBI investigated this matter with the Los Angeles Police Department and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police – Federal Policing. In addition, significant assistance was provided by U.S. law enforcement partners, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection Buffalo, New York, and Colombian law enforcement partners, including Colombian National Police – Directorate of Criminal Investigation and Interpol, Special Interagency Investigation Group (Policía Nacional de Colombia – Dirección de Investigación Criminal e Interpol, Grupo Especial de Investigación Interagenciales).
The Justice Department’s Judicial Attaché Office in Bogotá and Office of International Affairs worked with the Government of Colombia to secure the arrest.
This investigation, arrest, and prosecution are part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Los Angeles comprises agents and officers from the FBI and LAPD with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.
Assistant United States Attorneys Lyndsi Allsop and Joshua J. Lee of the Transnational Organized Crime Section are prosecuting this case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided substantial assistance.
