US doubles reward as ex-Olympian Ryan Wedding accused of ordering murder of federal witness in Colombia

WEB DESK: US authorities have intensified their pursuit of Ryan James Wedding, a former Canadian Olympic snowboarder who has allegedly transformed into one of the world’s most violent transnational drug traffickers. The US State Department this week raised the reward for information leading to his arrest to US$15 million, placing him among the highest-profile fugitives in North America, while also announcing up to US$2 million each for information on the unidentified assassins who killed a federal witness set to testify against him.

Wedding, 43, competed for Canada in the giant slalom event at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics before drifting into crime. US officials say that after serving a prison sentence for cocaine distribution in 2010, he emerged as the head of a sprawling narcotics network that moved massive quantities of cocaine from Colombia through Mexico and the United States into Canada. Authorities estimate the organisation generates more than US$1 billion annually, operating with the support of the Sinaloa cartel.

Dubbed “El Jefe,” “Giant” and “Public Enemy,” Wedding is accused of orchestrating murders across multiple countries, including the January 2025 assassination of a protected witness, Jonathan Acebedo-Garcia, in Medellín, Colombia. According to investigators, three hired killers, captured on surveillance footage—tracked and executed Acebedo-Garcia in a restaurant, shooting him five times in the head. The FBI says Wedding helped locate the witness by paying to have his photograph and personal details posted on a fake Canadian news website.

A newly unsealed US indictment also accuses an Ontario lawyer, Deepak Paradkar, of advising Wedding to murder the witness to avoid extradition from Mexico. Paradkar and several other alleged associates were arrested this week during an international operation spanning Quebec, Ontario, Alberta and Mexico. Canadian national Carmen Yelinet Valoyes Florez, accused of helping locate the witness, and Quebec resident Atna Onha, charged with hiring a hitman, were among those detained.

US Attorney General Pam Bondi described Wedding as the architect of “one of the most prolific and violent drug-trafficking organisations” operating today. FBI Director Kash Patel likened him to modern versions of Escobar and El Chapo, warning: “We are coming for you. We will find you.”

Wedding remains at large, believed to be hiding in Mexico. Authorities urge anyone with information to contact the FBI, RCMP or the nearest US embassy.