CBC Lite Sections News • World What went down behind the scenes of Ryan Wedding’s arrest, according to a Mexican security expert Jorge Barrera | CBC News | Posted: January 24, 2026 3:11 AM | Last Updated: 22 hours ago Canadian fugitive was betrayed by faction of Mexico's Sinaloa cartel that was protecting him, analyst says Image | Ryan Wedding US arrival Caption: Canadian fugitive Ryan Wedding, a former Olympic snowboarder turned alleged drug kingpin, is escorted from a plane by FBI agents in Ontario, Calif., on Friday. Wedding surrendered himself at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City Thursday night. (FBI/Reuters) (BUTTON) Load image Open image in new tab U.S. authorities were in contact with Canadian fugitive Ryan Wedding, the former Olympic snowboarder-turned alleged cocaine kingpin, days before his surrender at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City on Thursday, says a prominent Mexican security expert. David Saucedo, a security analyst who regularly appears in Mexican media offering commentary on security and political issues, says FBI director Kash Patel decided to travel to Mexico City once U.S. authorities and Wedding had agreed on a time for the surrender. "I understand that these negotiations were established various days ago," Saucedo said. * Canadian fugitive Ryan Wedding arrested after a decade on the run * After allegedly killing a ‘rat,’ could Ryan Wedding turn FBI informant himself? "So [Patel] planned this lightning visit to Mexico, to coincide with the surrender of Ryan Wedding, to bolster the perception that, thanks to him, he obtained this major victory with the arrest of the number one fugitive of the United States." Saucedo said his information was based on conversations with Mexican security sources. Image | David Saucedo 2 Caption: David Saucedo is a prominent security analyst who regularly appears in Mexican media offering commentary on security and political issues. (Submitted by David Saucedo) (BUTTON) Load image Open image in new tab 'Intense negotiation' At a Friday news conference to announce Wedding's arrest, Patel said his trip to Mexico on Thursday to meet with Mexican security officials was pre-planned. He wouldn't provide any details about the arrest, but did say Mexican and U.S. authorities "worked hand in glove ... on the ground" to apprehend Wedding in Mexico City on Thursday night. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Patel said that Wedding was taken into custody by the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team after "an intense negotiation." Image | Patel Duheme - Wedding arrest Caption: FBI director Kash Patel, left, speaks with RCMP Commissioner Michael Duheme at a Friday news conference in Ontario, Calif., announcing Wedding's apprehension. (Mike Blake/Reuters) (BUTTON) Load image Open image in new tab In a statement released Friday morning, Mexico's security secretary, Omar García Harfuch, said that a Canadian had surrendered at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico on Thursday. Harfuch spent part of Friday morning on a stage with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum for a news conference in the Mexican Gulf coast city of Veracruz on a separate issue that lasted about an hour and a half. * Cross Country Checkup is asking: What questions do you have about former Olympian and alleged drug kingpin Ryan Wedding? Leave your comment here and we may read it or call you back for Sunday's show He didn't mention Wedding, and no journalist asked about his apprehension, which was reported by news agencies and published on social media during the news conference. Saucedo said Mexican authorities were aware that U.S. authorities were in contact with Wedding in the days before the Canadian fugitive's Thursday surrender. He said Harfuch likely remained silent on the matter during the news conference so as not to steal Patel's thunder. "I think it was a political courtesy," Saucedo said. Image | Omar Harfuch press conference Caption: Omar García Harfuch, Mexico's security and public protection secretary, right, speaks during a Friday news conference in Veracruz, as Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum looks on. (Mexican Security and Public Protection Secretariat) (BUTTON) Load image Open image in new tab Civil war within Sinaloa cartel Patel has portrayed Wedding as a modern-day Pablo Escobar, who once headed the fearsome Medellin cartel in Colombia, and has also compared him to Joaquín (El Chapo) Guzmán Loera, one of the former leaders of Mexico's Sinaloa cartel. Saucedo said Wedding managed to move and operate in Mexico City, living between top hotels there while under the protection of "Los Chapitos," the faction of the Sinaloa cartel still controlled by those loyal to the sons of El Chapo. * Ryan Wedding’s image as alleged drug kingpin inflated by U.S., says Sinaloa cartel operative * Is the U.S. really ‘inflating’ Ryan Wedding’s image as drug kingpin? "For reasons still unknown, Los Chapitos decided to pull the backing that he had in Mexico and he had to find his own protection," Saucedo said, adding that this left Wedding powerless with the very real threat of assassination hanging over him. Without the protection of Los Chapitos, Saucedo said Wedding became a target for those loyal to Ismael (El Mayo) Zambada Garcia, one of the leaders of the Sinaloa cartel. One of El Chapo's sons betrayed Zambada in July 2024 and handed him over to U.S. authorities, sparking a civil war within the cartel that has left thousands dead and disappeared in Sinaloa. WATCH | FBI official on what's next after Ryan Wedding's arrest: Media Video | Caption: Akil Davis, assistant director in charge of the FBI's Los Angeles field office, outlined some of the allegations against accused drug trafficker Ryan Wedding, some of the work that went into tracking him down — and what comes next in the case against the former Canadian Olympian. Open full embed in new tab Loading external pages may require significantly more data usage than loading CBC Lite story pages. Wedding too trusting of cartel, analyst says "That was Ryan's problem, he trusted excessively in Los Chapitos, and Los Chapitos have betrayal tattooed on their skin," Saucedo said. "That’s how Los Chapitos have survived for so many years, they've betrayed associates, friends, collaborators. Ryan was no exception." Saucedo said it seems Los Chapitos began to provide Mexican authorities with information about Wedding, which may have led to the raids in late December targeting several properties linked to the Canadian. Authorities seized millions of dollars worth of high-end motorbikes, artwork and two Olympic medals. * Mexico seizes Olympic medals, motorcycles in raids seemingly linked to hunt for Canadian fugitive Ryan Wedding * Motorcycles seized in raids targeting Canadian fugitive Ryan Wedding valued at $40M US: FBI With U.S. and Mexican authorities tightening the investigative ring around Wedding, Saucedo said it appears he was running out of options, and when faced with a choice between turning himself over to Mexican or U.S. authorities, he chose the latter. "The Sinaloa cartel got rid of Ryan to keep the distribution networks, channels, routes and contacts," Saucedo said. "I believe that, now, Los Chapitos are going to keep the narco-empire that Ryan left." 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