Prosecutors seek extradition of judge arrested in Colombia

U.S. officials said Thursday that Mexican judge Luiz Benítez Alcántara was arrested in Colombia and charged in the United States with accepting $2 million in bribes to release a suspected Canadian drug trafficker. Benítez, 49, is charged in a nine-count indictment with being an accessory after the fact, the Justice Department said.

The Justice Department said Benítez was overseeing extradition proceedings in Mexico in 2024 for Andrew Clark, a Canadian citizen. Clark was charged in the United States with helping to run a billion-dollar drug-trafficking group allegedly headed by former Canadian Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding.

U.S. officials allege Benítez accepted the bribe payments and then released Clark from custody. Clark was arrested days after his release and removed to the United States, where he faces drug-trafficking and murder charges.

Benítez was arrested Sunday in Colombia, the Justice Department said. U.S. officials said they will request his extradition from Colombia, and it was not immediately known whether Benítez had a lawyer.

U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said in the statement, “Crooked public officials, no matter where they are, who assist drug traffickers operating here at home will face justice in the United States.”

The arrest is the latest in the U.S. investigation into a multinational drug-trafficking network allegedly run by Wedding, according to U.S. authorities. The Justice Department said Wedding became a top FBI fugitive and accused him of moving cocaine from Latin America into the United States and orchestrating several killings.

Wedding was arrested in Mexico earlier this year and flown to California, where he pleaded not guilty to murder and drug charges.

Dozens of people have been arrested in connection with the alleged network, authorities said. They also seized large volumes of drugs, weapons and cash, as well as millions of dollars worth of automobiles, motorcycles, artwork and jewelry.

Clark’s attorney, Matthew Lombard, did not immediately respond to messages Thursday.