As Kash Patel said at a press conference, Wedding was detained in Mexico, where he had been hiding for recent years. He emphasized that the Mexican authorities helped in the action against the criminal. In 2025, Wedding was added to the list of 10 most wanted criminals, and the reward for information about him was increased from $10 to $15 million.
Who is Ryan Wedding?
What were the charges brought against Wedding?
What support did the FBI receive from Mexican authorities?
When did Wedding become a top 10 most wanted criminal?
According to the FBI, the Canadian – a former member of Canada's team at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City – led and participated in an international drug smuggling operation that routinely shipped hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia through Mexico to the United States and Canada. He was to do this as a member of the Mexican Sinaloa Cartel, one of the largest criminal organizations in the world.
“Just to give you an idea of how bad a man Ryan Wedding is: he went from an Olympic snowboarder to the biggest drug dealer in modern times,” Patel said during a news conference. — This is the modern-day El Chapo. This is the modern Pablo Escobar, he added. Joaquin “Chapo” Guzman is the former head of Sinaloa, and Escobar is the former head of the Colombian cartel from Medellin. Both were considered among the most powerful drug traffickers of their time.
Federal prosecutors in November charged Wedding, 44, with complicity in the murder of a witness who was to testify against him. The Canadian allegedly offered a reward for his murder, which took place in Colombia in 2024. Last year, 10 people from Canada, Colombia and the USA were detained in connection with the case as part of “Operation Gigant Slalom”. Wedding is also accused of witness intimidation, money laundering and drug smuggling.
