U.S. indictment accuses Mexican judge of taking $2 million to order release of Andrew Clark; he was arrested in Colombia

Luis Benítez Alcántara, 49, of Mexico City, was arrested Sunday in Colombia on a U.S. indictment, the Justice Department said Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026. The department said the United States will request his extradition.¹ Uno TV gave the arrest date as Nov. 1.²

An indictment is an allegation, not a finding. “All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law,” the release says.¹

The second superseding indictment, stamped filed Sept. 4, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, is case No. 2:25-cr-882(B)-DOC. It charges nine counts of accessory after the fact under 18 U.S.C. § 3.³ If convicted, he would face a maximum of 15 years in prison on each count, the release says.¹ The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles announced the case in its own release.⁴

What the indictment alleges

The indictment describes Benítez, also known as “The Judge,” as a district judge in Mexico City who oversaw the extradition proceedings of Andrew Clark. It says Clark was provisionally arrested in Guadalajara on or about Oct. 8, 2024, on charges in United States v. Ryan James Wedding, et al.³

According to the indictment, Clark negotiated a deal, starting no later than about December 2024 and continuing through about January 2025, to pay Benítez approximately $2 million in cash to order his release. It alleges that Benítez “granted Clark bond and ordered him released” on or about Feb. 24, 2025, and that he received the full payment that day.³

It separately alleges that Clark sent approximately $2.75 million in small increments to intermediaries, starting no later than about November 2024 and continuing through about February 2025, to secure his release from a Mexican prison.³

Each count alleges that the defendants assisted Clark, knowing of an offense against the United States, “to hinder or prevent his apprehension, trial and punishment.” The offenses named are drug conspiracy (Counts 1 and 2), conspiracy to export cocaine (Count 3), continuing criminal enterprise (Count 4), murder in connection with a continuing criminal enterprise and drug crime (Counts 5, 6, 8 and 9) and attempt to commit such a murder (Count 7).³

All nine counts are marked “all defendants.” The public copy blacks out the names of the others charged with Benítez, along with other passages.³

Clark and Wedding

The department said Clark was re-arrested days after his release and removed to the United States, where his case is pending. It said Ryan Wedding, a former Olympic snowboarder for Canada, was apprehended in January 2026 in Mexico and remains in federal custody, with trials scheduled for March 31, 2027, and Oct. 26, 2027.¹ CBS News reported that Wedding has pleaded not guilty to murder and drug charges.⁵

Responses

“Crooked public officials, no matter where they are, who assist drug traffickers operating here at home will face justice in the United States,” Attorney General Todd Blanche said in the release.¹

CBS News reported that it was not immediately known whether Benítez has a lawyer.⁵ Reports from ABC News, El Tiempo and Uno TV carried no statement from him, a lawyer or the Mexican government.⁶⁷²

What the records do not show

• No court has ruled on the allegations, and the records opened contain no plea or response from Benítez.
• The public copy of the indictment does not say how the money reached Benítez or how the $2 million relates to the $2.75 million.³
• The release does not say where in Colombia he was arrested.¹
• The records opened do not say whether Benítez still holds a judicial post. Uno TV reported that his status after a ratification review needs official confirmation, and it listed as an open question whether Mexico has opened an investigation.²
• A CourtListener search found no docket for No. 2:25-cr-882, so no docket sheet was reviewed.