The Sinaloa Cartel and Former Olympian Ryan Wedding: A Criminal Connection
Ryan Wedding, a former Olympian, is on the FBI’s Most Wanted list for his links to the Sinaloa Cartel. The cartel, founded by Felix Gallardo and later led by Guzman, remains a dominant force in the drug trade. It is implicated in extensive violence and massive drug smuggling operations throughout North America, with significant financial operations including Bitcoin laundering.
Ryan Wedding, a former Canadian Olympic snowboarder, has emerged as a significant fugitive on the FBI’s ‘Ten Most Wanted Fugitives List’ due to his connections to the Sinaloa Cartel, a powerful drug trafficking organization. The FBI has placed a $10 million reward for his capture as he is wanted for large-scale cocaine smuggling and multiple murders, including a tragic case of mistaken identity involving a Canadian couple in 2023.
The Sinaloa Cartel, founded in the late 1980s by Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo, is one of the oldest drug trafficking organizations in Mexico, and was famously led by El Chapo Guzman, who escaped imprisonment twice before being captured in 2016. The cartel has become synonymous with the state of Sinaloa, where it was established, and has been a key supplier of various illegal drugs, including fentanyl, cocaine, and heroin on American streets.
Specializing in smuggling routes through Arizona and California, the Sinaloa Cartel has distribution networks in many cities across the United States, and it is reputed for operating fentanyl production facilities within Mexico. Current estimates suggest that the cartel controlled about 40 to 60 percent of Mexico’s drug trade in the early 2010s, with annual revenues peaking at $3 billion, and it has recently been implicated in utilizing Bitcoin to launder substantial amounts of money between August 2022 and February 2023.
The Sinaloa Cartel has been a driving force behind the substantial violence in Mexico and a central figure in the prolonged drug war that has resulted in tens of thousands of fatalities. One pivotal leader within the cartel is 76-year-old Ismael Zambada, known as the last of the traditional Mexican drug lords, who has been closely associated with Guzman. Zambada is believed to oversee drug transport operations, manage security for drug storage sites, and orchestrate hit squads targeting rival cartels.
Ryan Wedding’s involvement with the Sinaloa Cartel and its notorious history encapsulates the complexities of drug trafficking in North America. The cartel, rooted in its establishment from the 1980s and marked by high-profile figures like El Chapo and Zambada, continues to exert influence over drug distribution and violence across the region. Understanding its operations offers a clearer view of the ongoing challenges in combating drug-related crime.
Original Source: www.ndtv.com
