Mexican judge arrested in Colombia on 9 US charges
The Justice Department alleges Luis Benítez Alcántara took $2 million to release a Canadian defendant and says the US will request the judge’s extradition.
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The Justice Department alleges Luis Benítez Alcántara took $2 million to release a Canadian defendant and says the US will request the judge’s extradition.
Mexican judge Luis Benítez Alcántara was arrested in Colombia on Sunday and faces 9 US counts of being an accessory after the fact, the Justice Department announced on 5 November. The United States will request his extradition.
The indictment alleges that Benítez received a $2 million bribe on 24 February 2025, the day he granted bond to Canadian defendant Andrew Clark and ordered his release. Benítez had been the Mexico City district judge overseeing Clark’s extradition proceedings after Clark’s arrest on US charges.
FBI Director Kash Patel said Benítez allegedly accepted bribes and used his judicial position to aid Wedding and his associates. Patel said the accessory charges concern alleged assistance intended to hinder or prevent a person’s arrest, trial or punishment. If convicted, Benítez faces a maximum of 15 years in prison on each count, the department said.
The indictment contains allegations, not findings of guilt. The Justice Department says all defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.
Clark was arrested in Mexico in October 2024 on US drug-trafficking, murder and attempted-murder charges that also named Ryan James Wedding, a former Canadian Olympic snowboarder. The US formally requested Clark’s extradition in November 2024. The Justice Department alleges Clark was second-in-command in Wedding’s drug operation.
The indictment alleges that from November 2024 through February 2025, Clark transferred approximately $2.75 million in small increments through intermediaries to secure his release and negotiated an agreement to pay Benítez. Clark was arrested again days after his release and handed over to US authorities on 27 February 2025, according to Fox News. His criminal case remains pending in the US.
The US Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California is prosecuting Benítez’s case. The Justice Department said the indictment was returned on 4 September.
Investigators say Operation Carthage concerns an alleged organization of at least 12 people, including serving senior law-enforcement officials. The notices bring senior security-service and police officials under formal suspicion.
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