Following the understanding mechanism reached with the U.S. Government and based on international cooperation agreements, on January 22, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Kash Patel, met with his counterparts in Mexico.
Two working meetings were held, one with the team from the Ministry of Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC) and another with officials from the Federal Attorney General’s Office (FGR).
During the meetings, recognition was given to the increase in coordinated operations for the detention of suspects accused of generating violence and priority targets impacting both countries. It was also agreed to continue coordinated work for the benefit of both nations, with full respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The meetings took place in a climate of respect, and it was agreed to continue strengthening coordination, which has already produced significant results in the arrest of priority targets. Cooperation will be maintained, and the exchange of information will be reinforced, with the aim of bolstering the security of both countries.
The FBI Director departed today for the United States, accompanied by two priority targets, a non-U.S. national detained by Mexican authorities, and a Canadian citizen who voluntarily surrendered yesterday at the U.S. Embassy.
The two priority targets: Ryan James Wedding, alias “Thor”, a Canadian citizen. Wedding is a leader of a transnational drug trafficking and smuggling network.
Alejandro Rosales Castillo, a U.S. citizen, who is on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list.
Respect and shared responsibility will continue to be the guiding principles of this collaboration.
Based on intelligence work and the sharing of information with the FBI, in Pachuca, Hidalgo, personnel from the Ministry of Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC) and the Federal Attorney General’s Office (FGR) executed an arrest and extradition warrant against Alejandro Rosales Castillo, who has a Red Notice and is wanted by authorities in the state of North Carolina, on charges of First-Degree Murder, Armed Robbery, Motor Vehicle Theft, and First-Degree Kidnapping.
Rosales Castillo is on the FBI list of the 10 most wanted fugitives.
He is linked to the 2016 murder of his former coworker in Charlotte, North Carolina. Her body was found on August 17, 2016, in a wooded area near Cabarrus County, North Carolina, with injuries sustained from a firearm.
Ryan James Wedding, 43, alias “Thor,” a Canadian citizen, has been identified as the leader of an international organization dedicated to drug trafficking that shipped cocaine from Colombia, through Mexico and Southern California, to Canada. He is linked to a faction of the Pacific Cartel.
Wedding is accused by U.S. authorities of sending hundreds of kilograms of cocaine on multiple occasions to the United States and Canada. On September 17, 2024, a U.S. District Court issued a federal arrest warrant against Wedding, charging him with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances; conspiracy to export cocaine; running a continuing criminal enterprise; murder and attempted murder, and drug trafficking.
He is on the FBI’s list of the ten most wanted fugitives. The U.S. State Department’s Narcotics Rewards Program offered up to US$15 million for information leading to Wedding’s arrest or conviction.
Related: Drug cartel operator César Alejandro Sepúlveda, alias “El Botox”, arrested in Michoacán
