The United States ambassador to Mexico, Ronald Johnson, confirmed this Friday that drug trafficker and former Olympic athlete Ryan Wedding voluntarily surrendered in Mexican territory, as a result of coordination between authorities from both countries.
“The voluntary surrender of Ryan Wedding was a direct result of the pressure exerted by the law enforcement authorities of Mexico and the United States, who worked in close coordination and cooperation,” the ambassador said in a statement.
Johnson highlighted that the case represents “concrete progress against transnational criminal organizations, cartels and narco-terrorists,” and underlined US President Donald Trump’s commitment to pursuing those who “poison” communities “with drugs and threaten them with violence.”
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The ambassador added that Wedding’s delivery demonstrates the collaboration between the US government and the administration of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum “so that criminals are held accountable wherever they operate.”
Finally, Johnson recognized the joint work of the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC) and the Attorney General’s Office (FGR), as well as the US Department of Justice and the FBI, considering the case as an example of bilateral cooperation in security matters.
“This arrest is an example of what can be achieved when we work together as sovereign partners,” the note concluded.
Previously, the FBI reported that Wedding, one of the most wanted drug traffickers in the United States, who has been compared to Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán, was captured Thursday night in Mexico and will be extradited to the United States.
Wedding was hidden in Mexico for more than a decade and since 2024 he faces charges of cocaine trafficking and murder in the United States, where he was one of the FBI’s most wanted fugitives.
In November 2025, US authorities increased the reward from $10 to $15 million for information leading to the capture of Wedding, who represented Canada at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City (Utah, United States) in the ‘snowboard’ category.
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According to the Attorney General of the United States, Pam Bondi, Wedding is the leader of a transnational criminal organization that traffics dozens of tons of cocaine each year to the United States and Canada, from Colombia and through Mexico.
Wedding went from being an Olympic athlete in 2002 to being arrested and sentenced in 2010 to 48 months in prison for trying to transport 24 kilos of cocaine to Canada from San Diego (USA).
After serving his sentence, he was extradited in 2011 to Canada, from where he tried to organize the transportation of tons of drugs for the Sinaloa cartel, the organization of ‘El Chapo’.
When he was about to be arrested by the Canadian Police, Wedding fled to Mexico from where he ordered the murder of several people and directed his drug trafficking network.
With information from EFE
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