Mexico Judge Accused of $2 Million Bribe to Free Drug Ring Associate

A Mexican district judge has been arrested in Colombia and charged with accepting a two million dollar bribe to secure the release of a high-level associate of alleged drug kingpin Ryan Wedding, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The charges were announced on Thursday and stem from extradition proceedings that began after the associate was detained in Mexico in October 2024.

Luis Benitez Alcantara, 49, served as the district judge in Mexico City when he oversaw the case of Andrew Clark. The department stated that Clark negotiated an agreement to pay Benitez approximately two million dollars in exchange for an order releasing him from custody. The funds were transferred through intermediaries. On February 24, 2025, the day Benitez received the full payment, he granted Clark bond and ordered his release.

Clark was rearrested days later and removed to the United States, where his criminal case remains pending. The superseding indictment alleges that Benitez used his official position to unlawfully secure Clark's release, enabling a major figure in an international drug organization to evade lawful detention. Benitez faces nine counts of accessory after the fact. If convicted, he faces a statutory maximum sentence of 15 years in federal prison for each count. The department said it will request his extradition from Colombia.

Wedding and Clark, both Canadian nationals, are charged in the U.S. with drug trafficking, murder, and attempted murder. They have pleaded not guilty to their charges. Wedding is accused of leading a violent criminal organization that trafficked tons of cocaine from Colombia through Mexico and the U.S. to Canada. He is also accused of orchestrating several murders for hire in Canada and Mexico. The 44-year-old former professional snowboarder competed in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City before his arrest in Mexico in January. He is currently in custody in the U.S. awaiting two separate trials scheduled to start next year.

Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement that crooked public officials who assist drug traffickers operating in the United States will face justice here. He noted that this pursuit applies regardless of where the officials are located. The department has not yet specified the exact location of the judge's arrest in Colombia, only confirming it occurred on Sunday. Mexico's government and judiciary have been contacted for comment on the charges and allegations.

The case underscores the financial scale of the alleged bribery, with the full two million dollar sum arriving on the same day the judge signed the release order. Clark, 36, remains a key figure in the prosecution of the international drug ring. The charges against Benitez represent a direct legal action against a foreign judicial officer in connection with a U.S. criminal case. The department emphasized that the judge's actions allowed a major figure to avoid lawful detention for a period of days.