A Canadian man linked to a drug-trafficking ring allegedly run by a former Canadian Olympian was extradited from Mexico to the United States this week in a large transfer of drug cartel figures.
U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi announced on Feb. 27 that 29 wanted individuals from Mexico have been taken into U.S. custody. They face a range of charges, including murder, racketeering, drug trafficking, and money laundering.
Canadian Andrew Clark, 34, faces charges in the United States for his alleged participation in the drug trafficking operation allegedly led by former Canadian Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding.
While Wedding remains at large and is featured on the FBI’s “most wanted” list, Clark was arrested in Mexico in October 2024 during an operation by the Mexican navy as he was being sought by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Central District of California alleges that members of the network have shipped hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia to Mexico, and then on to Southern California, other locations in the United States, and Canada.
The U.S. indictment alleges that Wedding and Clark were using a Canada-based transportation network of long-haul semi-trucks to ship the narcotics.
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Wedding and Clark also stand accused of directing murders in Canada, including that of a couple in Ontario in 2023 as retaliation over a stolen drug shipment in California. The death of the couple visiting from India was a case of mistaken identity, police said.
The allegations have not been tested in court.
If convicted, Clark faces up to capital punishment or a life sentence in California, although the state has not put a convict to death since 2006.
The extradition move by Mexico follows the recent U.S. terrorist designation of several Mexican drug cartels.
Since taking office, the Trump administration has imposed increased pressure on Mexico and Canada to crack down on drug trafficking with the threat of punitive tariffs.
Along with Andrew Clark, some alleged leaders and managers of the newly designated cartels were extradited to the United States, including from the Sinaloa Cartel, Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), Cártel del Noreste (formerly Los Zetas), La Nueva Familia Michoacana, and Cártel de Golfo (Gulf Cartel).
Canada also listed these groups as terrorist entities on Feb. 20, with the exception of Cártel del Noreste.
Among the more well-known cartel figures to have been extradited is Rafael Caro Quintero, a drug trafficker who had founded the now defunct Guadalajara Cartel.
Caro Quintero was a top fugitive wanted for allegedly kidnapping and killing DEA Special Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena in 1985. Camarena is played by actor Michael Peña in the Netflix series “Narcos: Mexico.”
Caro Quintero was arraigned in a federal court in Brooklyn, New York, on Feb. 28, along with former leader of the Juarez Cartel leader Vicente Carrillo Fuentes.
United States Attorney John Durham said the two have for decades “flooded the United States and other countries with drugs, violence, and mayhem, killing so many in their quest for power and control, including in [Caro Quintero’s] case the brutal torture and murder of DEA Special Agent Camarena.”
“We are one step closer to justice being served,” Durham said in a statement.
