The United States State Department has increased its reward for ex-Olympian Ryan Wedding from $10 million to $15 million and added him to the FBI’s Top 10 Most Wanted List. Authorities now believe Wedding is one of the top narcos in Mexico, and that arresting him would deal a massive blow to the inflow of cocaine into California.
It’s rare to see law-enforcement agencies set aside everything and coordinate effectively. These days, even the arrest of pedophiles somehow sparks partisan dogfights. But every so often, a situation — like the LA fires and the hunt for an arsonist — forces cooperation. In moments like that, Governor Gavin Newsom won’t just work with Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel; he’ll thank them for a job well done.
Stopping Wedding’s rise into one of the most notorious drug traffickers of the 21st century is one such scenario. According to Al Jazeera, Patel now refers to Wedding as a “modern-day iteration of Pablo Escobar.” And based on AG Bondi’s assessment, there is currently no single individual shipping more cocaine into California than he is.
But as is often the case, the rise of a drug baron is so dramatic that it practically begs for a Hollywood adaptation. Wedding’s story fits the mold. Raised in a family deeply embedded in skiing — his grandmother ran a ski resort in Ontario and his father was a professional skier — his trajectory seemed already mapped out. While he did win a few competitions in his youth, he finished a disappointing 24th at the 2002 Winter Olympics and never snowboarded again.
From there, Wedding pivoted to club security and later to selling marijuana, but he refused to be just another small-time peddler on cold Canadian streets. He wanted to be the shot-caller. His marijuana operation was eventually busted, and authorities recovered $10 million, but a lack of evidence allowed him to walk.
Years later, he was arrested in the U.S. on charges of attempting to buy cocaine in 2008. He served four years in prison. Unfortunately, incarceration didn’t rehabilitate him. Wedding emerged more determined — and more ruthless. He moved to Mexico and joined the Sinaloa Cartel. His nickname, El Jefe (“the boss”), makes it clear he’s no minor player.
Since then, he has been accused of involvement in multiple murders. And as Trump-era tariffs and aggressive anti-drug efforts tightened pressure on traffickers, Wedding’s operation began to unravel. Because the U.S. State Department closing in, his co-conspirators have been arrested one after another.
Mexico, the U.S., and Canada are now working together, and it seems only a matter of time before Wedding is back behind bars. Fittingly, given his background, the multinational crackdown has been dubbed Operation Giant Slalom. There’s also a documentary in development — Snow King: From Olympian to Narco — which Netflix is reportedly circling for its expanding documentary slate.
But ultimately, what matters most is stopping the cocaine pipeline that continues to devastate families. From Wedding’s past, it’s clear that the only way he will ever stop is when he’s finally detained.
