Nine charges against the former judge
Benítez, 49, was arrested on Sunday, November 1, 2026, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. A federal indictment charges him with nine counts of being an accessory after the fact, alleging that he helped Andrew Clark avoid arrest, prosecution and punishment for crimes connected to Wedding's organization. Each count carries a maximum prison sentence of 15 years if he is convicted.
The FBI announced the arrest and accused Benítez of using his judicial authority to assist Wedding, a former FBI Ten Most Wanted fugitive, and his associates. The agency credited its Los Angeles office, its law enforcement attaché in Bogotá, local partners and the Justice Department for their work on the operation.
U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said: "Crooked public officials, no matter where they are, who assist drug traffickers operating here at home will face justice in the United States."
The alleged payment for Clark's release
U.S. prosecutors identify Clark as Wedding's second-in-command. Mexican authorities arrested him in Guadalajara on October 8, 2024, over cocaine trafficking and organized crime allegations. He was awaiting extradition to the United States when Benítez allegedly accepted money to grant him bail and order his release.
The indictment places the arrangement for the roughly $2 million cash payment between December 2024 and January 2025. Prosecutors allege that Benítez collected the entire amount on February 24, 2025, and granted Clark bail that same day.
Prosecutors also describe a separate effort to obtain Clark's freedom: Between November 2024 and February 2025, he allegedly moved about $2.75 million through intermediaries in small transfers. That money was in addition to the approximately $2 million payment arranged for the judge.
Clark's release was brief. The Justice Department says he was arrested again days later and removed to the United States, where the criminal case against him remains pending.
Wedding in custody as network investigation continues
Wedding, a former Canadian Olympic snowboarder, was arrested in Mexico in January 2026 and taken to the United States on drug trafficking, murder and attempted murder charges. He remains in federal custody, with two trials scheduled for March and October 2027.
Prosecutors allege that Wedding led a billion-dollar criminal organization operating across Colombia, Mexico and the United States. They describe the network as Canada's largest cocaine supplier and accuse him of overseeing its international trafficking activities and having links to violent crimes, including murder.
The case against Benítez is part of the continuing investigation into that alleged network and U.S. efforts to prosecute people accused of helping it operate across borders.
In Mexico, security minister Omar García Harfuch said Edgar Aaron Vazquez Alvarado, known as "the General," died in a shootout while security forces were attempting to carry out an arrest warrant. Vazquez Alvarado is believed to have previously worked in Mexican law enforcement and maintained ties to senior officials in that field. The U.S. Treasury sanctioned him in 2024 for protecting Wedding in Mexico.
Separately, Toronto-area jeweler Rolan Sokolovski has agreed to extradition to the United States to stand trial over allegations that he laundered hundreds of millions of dollars for Wedding's alleged drug-smuggling network. Prosecutors describe him as a "de facto bank" for Wedding and allege that he helped Wedding acquire a $13 million Mercedes CLK-GTR Roadster.
