Mexican judge charged with accepting bribe for alleged trafficker's release, US to seek extradition

A Mexican judge was arrested on Sunday in Columbia and charged with a nine-count federal indictment charging him with accepting a $2 million bribe in exchange for granting bond to and ordering the release of a Canadian drug trafficker.

Luis Benítez Alcántara, 49, allegedly accepted $2 million in exchange for granting bond to a man who authorities say was second in command to FBI Ten Most Wanted fugitive Ryan Wedding, who is accused of orchestrating a billion-dollar transnational criminal organization and the largest supplier of cocaine to Canada. 

The United States will request Benítez’s extradition from Colombia.

“This case underscores my office’s commitment to dismantling criminal organizations at every level, including by holding accountable those who abuse positions of public trust,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California said in a statement. 

"The FBI and our partners have arrested Luis Benítez Alcántara, a Mexican judge who allegedly accepted bribes and used his position to aid former FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitive Ryan Wedding and his associates,” FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement.