Longtime fugitive Ryan Wedding attempted to halt his arrest in Mexico’s Sinaloa state almost a year before being apprehended by U.S. authorities last week, as per legal documents received by CBC News. Reports from Sinaloan news outlet Riodoce indicate that Wedding, a Canadian accused of leading a cocaine-smuggling operation associated with the Sinaloa cartel, believed Mexican authorities were closing in on him in early 2025.
In mid-February, Wedding, residing in Los Mochis at the time, swore in a Mexican federal court filing that state law enforcement had secured a warrant for his arrest and extradition. The filing coincided with an intensified FBI search for Wedding following the murder of a witness set to testify against him.
Jonathan Acebedo-Garcia, a Montreal-born drug trafficker, was killed in Medellin, Colombia, on Jan. 31, 2025, allegedly due to Wedding offering a $5 million bounty on him. Wedding, aged 44, was apprehended in Mexico and transported to California, where he faces 17 federal charges, including murder, drug trafficking, witness tampering, and money laundering. He has pleaded not guilty.
A ruling by a federal judge in Sinaloa on Nov. 4, 2025, mentioned that he lacked jurisdiction over Wedding’s amparo request because the arrest warrant was issued in Mexico City. The ruling, although redacted, identified Wedding by his full name, Ryan James Wedding.
Wedding’s defense attorney in California, Anthony Colombo, acknowledged the 2025 court case, stating that using an amparo to block an arrest warrant is common in Mexico. The judge’s decision highlighted discrepancies in Sinaloa’s public safety director’s acknowledgment of seeking the arrest warrant.
Cartel expert Nathan P. Jones explained that Wedding’s use of the Mexican legal system to delay legal proceedings is a typical tactic. Mexican authorities recently raided properties linked to Wedding near Mexico City, seizing drugs, Canadian snowboarding medals, artwork, and motorcycles worth $40 million US.
The FBI listed Wedding as one of its top 10 most-wanted fugitives in March, with Director Kash Patel labeling him as a major narcotrafficker comparable to infamous drug lords like Pablo Escobar and JoaquÃn (El Chapo) Guzmán Loera. Wedding was reportedly shielded by the Sinaloa cartel, co-founded by El Chapo. CBC’s Jorge Barrera was informed by Mexico’s national guard that Wedding was not a focus of their surveillance in Sinaloa.
According to a Mexican security expert, Wedding had ties to Los Chapitos, a faction of the Sinaloa cartel loyal to El Chapo’s sons. The RCMP first pursued Wedding’s arrest in Montreal in 2015 due to a cocaine smuggling investigation. U.S. authorities claim the Thunder Bay native had been evading capture in Mexico since then.
Wedding’s lawyer, Colombo, disputed claims of his client hiding for a decade, preferring to define it as “living” in Mexico. The FBI and Sinaloa attorney general’s office have not commented on Wedding’s 2025 injunction request. Mexican Attorney General Ernestina Godoy Ramos described Wedding as a significant figure linked to the Sinaloa cartel, facilitating drug distribution in North America.
The Los Angeles Police Department revealed that Wedding’s network utilized stash houses to transport substantial quantities of cocaine and fentanyl annually to the U.S. and Canada. The RCMP hailed Wedding’s arrest as a milestone for public safety in Canada.
