Mexican judge accused by U.S. of taking bribes in major drug case

A Mexican justice has been arrested and accused of accepting $2 cardinal successful bribes successful speech for releasing a suspected Canadian cause trafficker from custody, U.S. officials said Thursday.

Luiz Benítez Alcántara was overseeing extradition proceedings successful Mexico successful 2024 for Canadian national Andrew Clark, who was charged successful the U.S. with helping to tally a billion-dollar cause trafficking radical allegedly headed by erstwhile Canadian Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding, the Justice Department said successful a statement. Benítez is accused of releasing Clark from custody aft accepting the bribe payments, according to the statement.

Clark was arrested days aft his merchandise and removed to the United States, wherever helium faces cause trafficking and execution charges.

The connection said Benítez, 49, was arrested Sunday successful Colombia. He is charged successful a nine-count indictment with being an accessory aft the fact. It was not instantly known if helium has a lawyer.

U.S. officials volition petition Benítez's extradition from Colombia, the connection said.

"Crooked nationalist officials, nary substance wherever they are, who assistance cause traffickers operating present astatine location volition look justness successful the United States," U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said successful the statement.

It's the latest apprehension successful the U.S. probe into a multinational cause trafficking web allegedly tally by Wedding, who became a apical FBI fugitive accused of moving cocaine from Latin America into the United States and orchestrating respective killings. Wedding was arrested successful Mexico earlier this twelvemonth and flown to California, wherever helium pleaded not blameworthy to execution and cause charges.

Dozens of radical person been arrested successful transportation with the alleged cause web and authorities seized ample volumes of drugs, weapons and cash, arsenic good arsenic millions of dollars worthy of automobiles, motorcycles, artwork and jewelry successful its investigation.

Clark's attorney, Matthew Lombard, did not instantly respond to messages Thursday.

After Wedding's arrest, FBI Director Kash Patel called the erstwhile Olympian "a modern-day 'El Chapo,'" — a notation to Joaquin Guzman, a one-time person of the notorious Mexican cause ringing known arsenic the Sinaloa Cartel who is serving a beingness sentence successful the U.S. According to the FBI, Wedding besides utilized aliases, including "El Jefe," "Giant" and "Public Enemy."

Wedding, who competed successful the 2002 Winter Olympics successful Salt Lake City, has been accused of moving a large cause trafficking web that moved cocaine from Colombia done Mexico to the U.S. and Canada. Patel said successful a societal media post Friday that Wedding was moving his alleged cognition arsenic a subordinate of the Sinaloa Cartel, and that Wedding was believed to person been hiding retired successful Mexico for implicit a decade.

Wedding was added to the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list past year, anterior to his arrest.

In:

• Drug Trafficking
• Mexico