# US accuses Mexican judge of $2m bribe to free accused drug trafficker allegedly linked to ex-Olympic snowboarder

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/us-accuses-mexican-judge-of-2m-bribe-to-free-accused-drug-trafficker-allegedly-linked-to-ex-olympic-snowboarder/
- Published: 2026-11-05T19:58:49+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-05T20:20:35+00:00
- Original publisher: The Guardian (publisher lean: Left)
- Original article: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/nov/05/mexican-judge-us-arrest-drug-trafficking
- Topics: Americas, Health, Medicine, Politics, World

## Key points

- A Mexican judge is accused of taking $2m to release Andrew Clark.
- Benítez was arrested in Colombia and faces a nine-count indictment.
- Clark faces US drug-trafficking and murder charges.

## Summary

US officials say Mexican judge Luis Benítez Alcántara accepted $2m to release a suspected Canadian drug trafficker, Andrew Clark, while overseeing extradition proceedings in 2024. Benítez’s arrest adds to a US investigation into a multinational trafficking network allegedly run by former Canadian Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding.

Benítez, 49, was arrested in Colombia on Sunday and faces a nine-count indictment accusing him of being an accessory after the fact. Clark was arrested again days after his release and taken to the US, where he faces drug-trafficking and murder charges; US officials will seek Benítez’s extradition. Wedding was arrested in Mexico earlier this year, pleaded not guilty to US charges, and dozens of people have been arrested in the wider investigation.

---
Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.