Is the U.S. really ‘inflating’ Ryan Wedding’s image as drug kingpin?
CBC
If it were the premise of a Hollywood movie, it would be hard to believe.
A young Olympic snowboarder from Canada throws away a promising future by turning to a life of crime, only to become one of the world’s most-wanted men — all while amassing vast wealth and leaving behind a trail of bodies.
Could it all be true?
In an interview with CBC News, an operative for Mexico’s notorious Sinaloa cartel has sought to poke holes in the story of fugitive Ryan Wedding — that is, in the version told by the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice.
The unnamed cartel enforcer said the U.S. is “inflating” Wedding’s role “to put all the attention on him,” and to claim victory if the Thunder Bay, Ont., native is captured. He also dismissed the FBI’s allegation that the Canadian is being protected by the Sinaloa cartel.
Indeed, there’s likely an element of political theatre involved in the high-profile manhunt. But many facts of the case have been established in court.
The following analysis is based on a reporter’s review over the past year of hundreds of pages of court filings, multiple hours of court hearings, public statements by prosecutors and investigators, and interviews with current and former officials familiar with the case.
Protected by the Sinaloa cartel?
First of all, the FBI has provided no evidence to back up its repeated claim that Wedding is being protected by the Sinaloa cartel — a violent drug-trafficking syndicate in the midst of its own bloody infighting.
The U.S. federal agency first made the protection allegation in the fall of 2024. By then, a civil war had broken out between the cartel’s two main factions: Los Chapitos, named after the sons of notorious drug lord Joaquín (El Chapo) Guzmán, and the group loyal to Ismael (El Mayo) Zambada, another co-founder of the cartel.
Investigators have declined to say with which branch Wedding may be aligned.
In an interview earlier this year, a former senior official with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) told CBC it would be unthinkable for the Sinaloa cartel to be protecting Wedding under the current circumstances.
“That’s absurd,” said Mike Vigil, who served as the DEA’s chief of international operations. “The cartel right now is in conflict,” he said.
Still, there may be more to the story.
U.S. President Donald Trump is urging other countries to help secure the Strait of Hormuz as Iran targets ships in the vital oil route, but so far there are few firm commitments.
Arab Gulf states reported new missile and drone attacks on Sunday after Iran threatened to widen its campaign as the war in the Middle East entered its third week.
The former secretary general of NATO says he doesn't think allies will be pulled further into the conflict in the Middle East, but he's concerned the ongoing war with Iran will benefit Russia's economy and take the world's attention away from the invasion of Ukraine.
As American and Israeli strikes pound Iran — while it attacks shipping and energy infrastructure across the Persian Gulf — U.S. President Donald Trump made a new threat to Tehran's leaders.
The armed man who rammed his vehicle into one of the largest Reform synagogues in the U.S. Thursday has been identified as a 41-year-old naturalized citizen born in Lebanon, according to federal officials.
With jagged cliffs rising from the Arabian Sea, the Strait of Hormuz is striking in its scenery — and these days, its emptiness. This resource superhighway, which normally hosts more than a hundred of the world’s largest oil and liquid natural gas (LNG) tankers every day, has seen no more than a handful all week.
The Canadian government said Tuesday it is alarmed by the escalation of violence and attacks in Lebanon, as the war in the Middle East expands.
In a resounding victory that is guaranteed to reshape Nepal's politics, rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah appeared headed for a landslide win in the South Asian country's first polls since youth-led protests toppled the previous government last fall.
China’s latest blueprint for driving growth in its economy was largely written before the U.S. and Israel instigated the most far-reaching war in the Middle East in decades.
U.S. President Donald Trump's firing of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Thursday overshadowed the announcement of his plans to nominate Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin as her successor.
The truck carrying Nepali prime ministerial candidate Balendra Shah was swarmed by cheering supporters in the capital, Kathmandu, on Saturday, unable to inch forward as the former rapper, wearing sunglasses and a sleek black suit, danced on top of the roof.
Israel sent troops into southern Lebanon on Tuesday and warned residents of more than 80 villages to evacuate as the Iran-backed militant Hezbollah group said it was ready for an "open war" with Israel in the wake of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.