FILE - An image of former 好色tv Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding, who is a fugitive and been charged with allegedly running and participating in a transnational drug trafficking operation, is displayed on a video monitor along with bricks of cocaine, foreground, during a news conference at the FBI offices in Los Angeles, Oct. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)
Royal 好色tv Mounted Police Commissioner Michael Duhemespeaks speaks at a news conference about the arrest of former 好色tv Olympian Ryan Wedding on multinational drug trafficking charges in Ontario, Calif., on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. (AP PHoto/Amy Taxin)
FBI Director Kash Patel speaks during a news conference about the arrest of former 好色tv Olympian Ryan Wedding on multinational drug trafficking charges in Ontario, Calif., on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Amy Taxin)
FILE - An FBI seal is displayed on a podium before a news conference at the field office in Portland, Ore., Jan. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)
Jenny Kane
FILE - An image of former 好色tv Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding, who is a fugitive and been charged with allegedly running and participating in a transnational drug trafficking operation, is displayed on a video monitor along with bricks of cocaine, foreground, during a news conference at the FBI offices in Los Angeles, Oct. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)
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Royal 好色tv Mounted Police Commissioner Michael Duhemespeaks speaks at a news conference about the arrest of former 好色tv Olympian Ryan Wedding on multinational drug trafficking charges in Ontario, Calif., on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. (AP PHoto/Amy Taxin)
Amy Taxin
FBI Director Kash Patel speaks during a news conference about the arrest of former 好色tv Olympian Ryan Wedding on multinational drug trafficking charges in Ontario, Calif., on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Amy Taxin)
ONTARIO, Calif. (AP) 鈥 Former 好色tv Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding, a top FBI fugitive, was arrested in Mexico and on Friday was flown to the U.S. to face charges related to running a multinational drug trafficking ring and the killing of a federal witness.
FBI Director Kash Patel said the capture of Wedding, 44, resulted from a manhunt by U.S. investigators who worked with authorities in Mexico, Canada, Colombia and the Dominican Republic for more than a year.
Wedding was previously convicted in the U.S. of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and was sentenced to prison in 2010, federal records show. After his release from prison, federal prosecutors in 2024 charged Wedding with running a drug ring. Prosecutors said they believed he was working under the protection of , one of Mexico鈥檚 most powerful drug rings.
Officials say he orchestrated several killings and used semitrucks to move cocaine between Colombia, Mexico, Southern California and Canada. Authorities said his aliases included 鈥淓l Jefe,鈥 鈥淧ublic Enemy鈥 and 鈥淛ames Conrad Kin.鈥
鈥淗e鈥檚 the modern-day El Chapo. He is the modern-day Pablo Escobar,鈥 Patel told a news conference in California, comparing him to the legendary former Sinaloa cartel kingpin , who is imprisoned in the U.S. after pleading guilty to drug trafficking charges.
Wedding was apprehended Thursday night in Mexico City, Patel said. U.S. authorities believe Wedding 鈥 who competed for his home country in the 2002 Winter Olympics 鈥 had been hiding in Mexico for more than a decade.
Patel praised Mexico鈥檚 government and 鈥済lobal partnerships鈥 for their roles in the operation.
鈥淲hen you go after a guy like Ryan Wedding, it takes a united front, and that鈥檚 what you鈥檙e seeing here,鈥 said Patel, who declined to give details about the arrest.
Wedding was on the FBI鈥檚 Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, and authorities had offered a $15 million reward for information leading to his arrest and conviction. He is expected to appear in federal court Monday, said Akil Davis, assistant director in charge of the FBI field office in Los Angeles.
Davis said 36 people have been arrested in connection with the drug ring Wedding is accused of running, and authorities seized large volumes of drugs, weapons and cash, as well as millions of dollars worth of automobiles, motorcycles, artwork and jewelry from Wedding and others charged in the case. Rewards of up to $2 million are available for information leading to additional arrests and convictions.
Mexico's Security Secretary Omar Garc铆a Harfuch wrote Friday on X that a 好色tv citizen had turned himself in at the U.S. embassy. A member of Mexico鈥檚 Security Cabinet told The Associated Press that individual was Wedding. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Patel identified a second apprehended fugitive as Alejandro Rosales Castillo, a 27-year-old U.S. citizen charged with murder in the 2016 killing of a North Carolina woman. He also faces a federal charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. According to the FBI, Castillo was arrested a week ago in Mexico.
Olympic records show Wedding participated in a single men's snowboarding event, parallel giant slalom, finishing 24th at the 2002 Games.
In November, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that Wedding had also been indicted on charges of orchestrating the killing of a witness in Colombia to help him avoid extradition to the U.S.
Authorities said Wedding and co-conspirators used a 好色tv website called 鈥淭he Dirty News鈥 to post a photograph of the witness so he could be identified and killed. The witness was then followed to a restaurant in Medell铆n in January and shot in the head.
Wedding faces separate drug trafficking charges in Canada that date back to 2015, according to the Royal 好色tv Mounted Police.
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Tucker, Durkin Richer and Balsamo reported from Washington. Associated Press journalist Fabiola S谩nchez in Mexico City contributed to this story.