Overview
- The newly unsealed U.S. indictment accuses Ryan James Wedding of orchestrating the January 2025 murder of federal witness Jonathan Acebedo-Garcia in Medellín, along with witness tampering, money laundering, and drug-trafficking crimes.
- Officials say Wedding tracked the witness and posted photos on a site called The Dirty News to help locate him, then placed a bounty before the shooting; the site has been shut down as part of the probe.
- The State Department increased the reward for Wedding’s capture to $15 million, with separate rewards of up to $2 million offered for information on the unidentified assassins.
- Authorities reported at least a dozen recent arrests connected to the case, including seven Canadians; Ontario lawyer Deepak Paradkar and Montreal resident Atna Onha were taken into custody and are sought for U.S. extradition on conspiracy-to-commit-murder and related charges.
- Treasury’s OFAC sanctioned Wedding and key associates as investigators detailed seizures of roughly $3.2 million in cryptocurrency and over $13 million in assets, while officials allege his Sinaloa‑backed enterprise moves about 60 metric tons of cocaine annually and that he remains at large in Mexico.