The United States Justice Department Says a Mexican Federal Judge, Luis Benítez Alcántara, 49, Is Charged With Nine Counts of Being an Accessory After the Fact Over an Alleged $2 Million Bribe to Grant Bond to Andrew Clark, 36, the Canadian It Calls Ryan Wedding’s Second-in-Command (November 5, 2026)

A Mexican judge who was overseeing extradition proceedings for a man the Department of Justice calls a Canadian drug trafficker is himself charged in the United States, the department said on Thursday, November 5, 2026. The department says Luis Benítez Alcántara, 49, of Mexico City, then the district judge in Mexico City responsible for Andrew Clark’s extradition proceedings, is charged in a second superseding indictment with nine counts of being an accessory after the fact, and that he allegedly accepted a $2 million bribe to grant bond to Clark, 36, whom it describes as second-in-command to Ryan James Wedding, 44, a former Olympic snowboarder for Canada. The department says Benítez Alcántara was arrested on Sunday in Colombia, with significant assistance from Colombian law enforcement partners, and that the United States will request his extradition from Colombia. CP24 reports the arrest was on November 1. The department says the FBI investigated with the Los Angeles Police Department and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Federal Policing.

Legal status: Charged. The nine counts against Luis Benítez Alcántara are allegations that have not been tested in court, and he is presumed innocent; Ryan Wedding and Andrew Clark are charged and are also presumed innocent.

The Nine Counts

The Justice Department says the judge “is charged in a second superseding indictment with nine counts of being an accessory after the fact,” and that the superseding indictment was returned on September 4. The department says the counts concern assisting Clark in order to hinder or prevent his apprehension. If convicted, it says, he faces a maximum of 15 years in prison on each count.

The department titled the release “Homeland Security Task Force Investigation Leads to Mexican Federal Judge’s Arrest on U.S. Charges of Accepting $2 Million Bribe to Free Canadian Drug Trafficker Charged with Ryan Wedding.” The prosecution is in the United States District Court for the Central District of California.

What Prosecutors Say About the Bond

The Justice Department says Clark was arrested in Mexico in October 2024 on United States drug trafficking, murder and attempted murder charges in which Wedding was also named, and that the United States formally requested his extradition in November 2024. It says that from November 2024 through February 2025 Clark transferred about $2.75 million through intermediaries and in small increments, and that he negotiated an agreement to pay the judge about $2 million in exchange for ordering his release. According to the department, on February 24, 2025, the day Benítez Alcántara allegedly received the full $2 million, he granted Clark bond and ordered his release. The department says Clark was re-arrested days later and sent to the United States, where the case against him remains pending. CP24 reports the same account, citing United States authorities.

The Organization, in the Department’s Words

The Justice Department says Wedding led “one of the biggest, most notorious, and violent transnational criminal organizations,” and FBI Director Kash Patel said Wedding was “orchestrating a billion-dollar transnational criminal organization.” CP24 reports that United States investigators allege “Clark was the second-in-command of a billion-dollar transnational criminal organization,” that the group was the largest supplier of cocaine to Canada, and that it also operated in Colombia, Mexico and the United States. Background on the enterprise is collected on this site’s Ryan Wedding enterprise file.

Where Wedding’s Own Case Stands

The Justice Department says Ryan James Wedding, 44, is charged with drug trafficking, murder and attempted murder, that he was apprehended in Mexico in January 2026 and removed to the United States, and that he remains in federal custody. It says his trials are scheduled for March 31, 2027 and October 26, 2027.

What the Officials Said

Attorney General Todd Blanche said, “Crooked public officials, no matter where they are, who assist drug traffickers operating here at home will face justice in the United States.” FBI Director Kash Patel said, “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.” First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli, of the Central District of California, said, “This case underscores my office’s commitment to dismantling criminal organizations at every level.”

Luis Benítez Alcántara, Andrew Clark and Ryan Wedding are presumed innocent, and none of the charges has been tested in court. The allegations are those of the United States Department of Justice, as published in its release and reported by CP24.