OAN Staff Cory Hawkins
10:25 AM – Friday, January 23, 2026
Ryan Wedding, the Canadian former Olympic snowboarder who has been dubbed the “Modern-day Pablo Escobar,” has been arrested, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Wedding, a Canadian citizen, represented his country in the men’s halfpipe snowboarding event at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, finishing in 24th place.
Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on Friday morning that authorities took Wedding into custody on Thursday night.
He was added to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list on March 6, 2025, with the reward for information leading to his capture raised to $15 million in November 2025.
Wedding is also accused of facilitating multiple murders, including the November 2023 killings of two family members in Ontario, Canada, and another victim’s murder in May 2024, over a drug debt.
Authorities believe 44-year-old Wedding is a member of the Sinaloa Cartel and has been hiding in Mexico for the last decade. Wedding is accused of running a transnational drug trafficking organization that reportedly imports about 60 metric tons of cocaine a year into Los Angeles, California, via semi-trucks coming from Mexico.
FBI Director Kash Patel compared Wedding to the late Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar and Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.
After being captured in Mexico City, Wedding was flown to the United States, where Bondi asserted “he will face justice.”
“Director Patel has worked tirelessly to bring fugitives to justice. We are grateful to our incredible Ambassador Ron Johnson and the Mexican authorities for assisting us in this case,” Bondi said in a post on X.
Patel held a press conference on Friday to provide more details. He thanked Mexican and Canadian authorities for collaborating with the U.S. to carry out the alleged drug kingpin’s apprehension.
“When you go after a guy like Ryan Wedding, it takes a united front,” Patel commented.
A grand jury indictment was unsealed in November, charging him in connection with the death of a federal witness who was planning to testify against him. Wedding allegedly “placed a bounty” on the witness’s head and used an unnamed Canadian website to find the witness and his wife. The wife was fatally shot soon after.
The former snowboarder was charged in a September 2024 superseding indictment with overseeing the operations of a criminal enterprise, attempted murder, and enriching himself with the enterprise’s laundered drug proceeds.
Patel emphasized at the Friday presser that Wedding is the 500th capture in the history of the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted list.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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