The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said it will seek extradition of Mexican judge Luis Benítez Alcántara, arrested in Colombia Sunday over an alleged $2 million payment tied to Canadian Andrew Clark’s release.
A second superseding indictment filed Sept. 4, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California alleges Clark sent about $2.75 million to intermediaries in small installments from around November 2024 through February 2025 as he sought release. Prosecutors also say he negotiated to pay Benítez about $2 million in cash between December 2024 and January 2025. The indictment places the alleged receipt of the money and Benítez’s bond order on Feb. 24, 2025.
Clark, who had been held in Mexico while extradition proceedings were pending, was back in custody several days after the bond order and was transferred to the United States. DOJ says his case there remains pending.
The indictment lists nine counts under federal law for accessory after the fact. DOJ calls the alleged payment a bribe, but the filing does not include a separate bribery charge against Benítez. If convicted, he could face up to 15 years in prison on each count, DOJ said.
Prosecutors describe Clark as second-in-command of a transnational criminal organization. A previous indictment alleged that Clark, former Canadian Olympic snowboarder Ryan James Wedding and others sought to distribute more than 1,800 kilograms of cocaine from March through August 2024, moving drugs from Colombia through Mexico and Southern California to Canada.
DOJ said U.S., Colombian and Canadian law enforcement partners took part in the investigation. The department gave no timetable for its extradition request.
