Diplomatic tension after Kash Patel claims FBI nabbed Ryan Wedding; Mexico says drug lord 'surrendered'

A diplomatic tension has been triggered between the US and Mexico after FBI director Kash Patel claimed that his agents arrested drug lord Ryan Wedding, a former Canadian Olympian, in Mexico. Mexico president Claudia Sheinbaum said there was no US involvement and Wedding actually surrendered. She said she won't fight over this with Patel, but Wedding was turning himself in.

The 44-year-old Canadian has been running a major cocaine trafficking network and was on the list of America's most-wanted. After his arrest, he was transported to California where he pleaded not guilty in federal court to 17 felony charges, including murder.




But the circumstances in which he was arrested remain grainy as Mexican president cited a photo of Wedding purportedly standing outside the decommissioned US embassy building, which is believed to be an AI-generated image. When journalists pointed out that the image is fake, the president said there was no indication by social media companies that the photo was fake.

“I’m not going to get into a debate with the FBI director, nor do I want there to be a conflict,” Sheinbaum said. “What they, the U.S. authorities, told the Mexican authorities is that it was a voluntary surrender.”

Who arrested Ryan Wedding?

Wedding's layer Anthony Colombo told Wall Street Journal that Wedding was handcuffed by FBI agents. Law enforcement officials made contact with Wedding who was believed to be armed at that time. There was an intense negotiation where he was told that his associates had already been captured and millions of dollars of his assets had been seized. Colombo said FBI arrested Wedding in Mexico and it's not true that he turned himself in.

Kash Patel was in Mexico, Sheinbaum is lying because....

US officials said the FBI involvement was a secret because foreign agents cannot officially be present in Mexico and conduct an operation. But Wedding was arrested after US ad Mexico officials coordinated closely and Patel himself was in Mexico, they said.