Longtime fugitive Ryan Wedding, accused of leading a cocaine-smuggling network tied to the Sinaloa cartel, attempted to halt his apprehension in Mexico’s Sinaloa state through a court order nearly a year prior to his recent capture by U.S. authorities. Legal documents revealed Wedding’s concerns that Mexican law enforcement was closing in on him in early 2025 as reported by Sinaloan news outlet Riodoce.
In a filing with a Mexican federal court in mid-February, Wedding, who was residing in Los Mochis at the time, swore that state authorities had obtained a warrant for his arrest and extradition. This action followed an escalation in the FBI’s pursuit of Wedding after a key witness set to testify against him was assassinated.
Jonathan Acebedo-Garcia, also known as a drug trafficker, was fatally shot in Medellin, Colombia, on Jan. 31, 2025, allegedly due to a $5 million US bounty placed on him by Wedding. The fugitive, aged 44, was apprehended in Mexico and transported to California to face 17 federal charges, including murder, drug trafficking, witness tampering, and money laundering, to which he pleaded not guilty.
A ruling from a federal judge in Sinaloa on Nov. 4, 2025, revealed that Wedding’s request for an injunction was dismissed due to the arrest warrant originating from Mexico City. The judge’s decision did not name Wedding directly but identified him as Ryan James Wedding in the Mexican court docket.
Wedding’s defense lawyer, Anthony Colombo, acknowledged the use of the amparo legal tactic in Mexico to challenge the arrest warrant. Colombo noted that the Sinaloa public safety director initially acknowledged seeking the warrant but later refuted doing so for extradition purposes.
Seizures from raids on four properties linked to Wedding, located over 1,000 kilometers southeast of Los Mochis, included drugs, Canadian snowboarding medals, artwork, and motorcycles valued at $40 million US. Wedding’s alleged associate, Andrew Clark, who was released using a similar amparo after his arrest in October 2024, was eventually re-arrested and transferred to U.S. custody.
The FBI listed Wedding among its top 10 most-wanted fugitives, describing him as a major drug trafficker comparable to infamous figures like Pablo Escobar and El Chapo. Wedding was associated with the Sinaloa cartel, particularly the faction controlled by El Chapo’s sons, known as Los Chapitos, according to a Mexican security expert.
Following an investigation into cocaine imports to Canada in 2015, the RCMP initially sought Wedding’s arrest in Montreal. U.S. authorities revealed that Wedding, a Thunder Bay native, had been evading capture in Mexico since that time. Colombo refuted claims that Wedding had been in hiding for a decade, preferring to characterize it as “living” in Mexico.
Authorities highlighted Wedding’s role as a significant logistics operator for the Sinaloa cartel, facilitating drug distribution in North America. Wedding’s network reportedly utilized stash houses in Los Angeles to transport large quantities of cocaine and fentanyl annually to various destinations in the U.S. and Canada. The RCMP hailed Wedding’s arrest as a substantial victory for public safety in Canada.
