Mexican judge arrested in Colombia over alleged $2 million bribe

Mexican judge Luis Benítez Alcántara was arrested in Colombia on Sunday, November 1, after a U.S. grand jury indicted him on nine counts of being an accessory after the fact. Prosecutors allege he accepted a $2 million bribe to grant bond and release Canadian national Andrew Clark, whom authorities describe as a senior figure in a transnational drug trafficking organization. The allegations have not been proven in court. The U.S. Justice Department announced the arrest on Thursday, November 5, and said it will seek Benítez’s extradition from Colombia. The arrest and charges stem from an investigation into a network allegedly led by former Canadian Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding. Benítez, 49, was overseeing Clark’s extradition proceedings in Mexico when he ordered Clark released on bond, according to the indictment. Prosecutors allege Clark sent about $2.75 million to intermediaries from November 2024 through February 2025. They say about $2 million reached Benítez on February 24, 2025, the day the judge granted Clark bond and ordered his release. Clark had been arrested in Mexico in October 2024 after the United States requested his extradition, according to the indictment....