FBI arrests ex-Canadian snowboard Olympian turned alleged drug lord

Al JazeeraCenterEN 2 min read 100% complete by Al Jazeera StaffJanuary 23, 2026 at 09:18 PM

AI Summary

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The FBI arrested Ryan Wedding, a former Canadian Olympic snowboarder, in Mexico City on Friday, January 23, 2026. Wedding is accused of leading a multibillion-dollar drug trafficking operation with ties to the Sinaloa Cartel, generating over $1 billion annually. He allegedly oversaw the distribution of narcotics into North America and is also accused of hiring assassins. Authorities have arrested 36 individuals connected to Wedding's ring and seized millions in assets. Wedding, who competed in the 2002 Olympics, faces charges of cocaine trafficking and murder and is expected to appear in a US court on Monday.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Joaquin Guzman (El Chapo) 40% Akil Davis 40% Pablo Escobar 40% Kash Patel 50% Canada 60% United States ×365% Sinaloa Cartel ×270% Mexico ×375% Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) ×485% Ryan Wedding ×895%

Keywords

drug trafficking 100% ryan wedding 90% fbi 90% sinaloa cartel 80% mexico 70% drug kingpin 60% murder 60% pablo escobar 50% el chapo 50% olympic snowboarder 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Very Negative

Score: -0.70

Source Transparency

Source

Al Jazeera

Political Lean

Center (0.00)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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drug trafficking ryan wedding fbi sinaloa cartel mexico drug kingpin murder pablo escobar el chapo olympic snowboarder

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