Former Canadian Olympic snowboarder Ryan James Wedding, 44, appeared in federal court Monday, January 26, in Santa Ana, California, and pleaded not guilty to sweeping allegations tied to cocaine trafficking and multiple murders.
According to Reuters, Wedding is accused of leading a transnational pipeline that moved hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia through Mexico and into the United States and Canada, allegedly working with Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel. He faces charges that include conspiracy to distribute cocaine, conspiracy to commit murder, and witness tampering—and if convicted on the most serious counts, he could face life in prison.
Prosecutors allege the violence wasn’t background noise—it was part of the machinery. Reuters reports they accuse Wedding of ordering drug-related killings, including the murder of a U.S. federal witness in Colombia in January 2025, plus additional killings and an attempted murder in Ontario tied to drug disputes.
The Reward and The Aliases
Wedding had been on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list, with U.S. authorities offering a $15 million reward tied to information leading to his arrest or conviction.
Federal investigators have also listed multiple aliases, including “El Jefe,” “Giant,” “Public Enemy,” “James Conrad King,” and “Jesse King.”
Mexico vs U.S. on what happened in Mexico City
The arrest itself is now its own storyline.
- U.S. officials have framed the outcome as an apprehension carried out with Mexican cooperation.
- Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, has publicly insisted there were no joint operations on Mexican soil, saying Wedding presented himself at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City and emphasizing that Mexico “wouldn’t allow” joint operations.
- Wedding’s defense has pushed back on the “surrender” framing as well, with reporting in Mexico noting his lawyer said his client “didn’t surrender” and was “apprehended.”
However you frame the Mexico City piece, the U.S. court piece is now official: Wedding is in federal custody in California, he has entered a not-guilty plea, and the case is moving forward through the system.
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3 Comments
Well…someone is obviously lying. That is one way to go about getting these guys.
I don’t think he turned himself in. Sheinbaum just doesn’t want to give the impression that the FBI provided the intel to capture and was in on it.
Mobreporter did a interesting video on it https://youtu.be/3HJjK5Zqwwg?si=Qtxyj27Y3YWMOZQb