Ryan James Wedding, a Canadian former Olympic athlete, considered by U.S. authorities to be “a modern version of Pablo Escobar and ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán,” is in the international spotlight after trading his athletic career for the leadership of one of the most complex and violent drug trafficking networks of the last decade, with its center of operations in Mexico and direct ties to the Sinaloa Cartel.
Wedding is among the FBI’s 10 most wanted fugitives, and a reward of $15 million is offered for his capture—an amount shared only with the most sought-after criminals internationally, such as Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, “El Mencho,” leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), and even higher than the $10 million offered for Iván Archivaldo and Jesús Alfredo Guzmán Salazar, “Los Chapitos.”
His name is also linked to the importation of approximately 60 metric tons of cocaine annually, managing shipments from Colombia and Mexico to the United States and Canada via logistical routes stretching from Los Angeles to Ontario.
