The judge who was supposed to handle the extradition case was accused of accepting a bribe of $2 million, and allowed a heavyweight suspect involved in transnational drug trafficking to escape.
On November 5 local time, the United States Department of Justice announced that 49-year-old Mexican judge Luis Benítez Alcántara was arrested in Colombia on November 1 for suspected bribery. The US has filed criminal charges against him and is preparing to request his extradition from Colombia.
The United States intervened because the judge was suspected of helping a US wanted drug trafficker evade extradition, thereby hindering the US from pursuing criminal responsibility against him.
The U.S. Department of Justice released footage of Benítez's arrest.
This case also involves a former Canadian Olympic athlete.
The US side alleges that Benitez accepted bribes to help the Canadian suspect Andrew Clark obtain bail and be released. Clark is accused of being the second-in-command of a large multinational drug trafficking organization, which is suspected to be led by Ryan Wedding, a former Canadian Olympic snowboard athlete.
Clark was arrested in Mexico in October 2024, facing charges of drug trafficking, murder, and attempted murder in the United States. In November of the same year, the United States officially requested the extradition of Clark to Mexico, with Benítez being responsible for handling the related case.
According to the indictment released by the U.S. Department of Justice, from November 2024 to February 2025, Clark transferred approximately $2.75 million through intermediaries in order to secure his release. About $2 million of this amount was reportedly used to bribe Benitez.
On February 24, 2025, just after reportedly receiving a bribe of $2 million, Benitez approved Clark’s bail and ordered his release.
However, Clark was arrested again after only a few days on the run and later transferred to the United States.
Benítez currently faces 9 charges related to allegedly helping criminals evade justice. If convicted, each charge could result in a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.
As for Wei Ding, who is suspected of leading this drug trafficking group, he was arrested in Mexico in January this year and later transferred to the United States. He denies the charges and is still in custody, awaiting trial next year.
