Name: FBI releases photo of Olympian and alleged drug kingpin Ryan Wedding
Uploaded: 2025-12-10T00:12:42.761Z
Duration: 2 min 2 s
Description: The FBI has released a new photo of former Olympian Ryan Wedding, whom the bureau’s director has described as a “modern day iteration of Pablo Escobar.” The ex-skier and snowboarder remains at large as agents continue their search.

The FBI has released a new photo of former Olympian Ryan Wedding, whom the bureau’s director has described as a “modern day iteration of Pablo Escobar.” The ex-skier and snowboarder remains at large as agents continue their search.

Washington

The FBI has released a recent photograph of Ryan Wedding, a former Olympic skier and snowboarder, who is wanted for allegedly leading a transnational drug trafficking operation. Authorities say Wedding is suspected of shipping large quantities of cocaine from Colombia through Mexico and the United States to Canada, and is also linked to multiple murders.

Wedding, who competed in the 2002 Olympics, was added to the FBI's most wanted fugitives list in March as part of Operation Giant Slalom. Officials believe he is currently being protected by the Sinaloa cartel in Mexico, and have offered a $15 million reward for information leading to his arrest or prosecution.

FBI releases photo of Olympian and alleged drug kingpin Ryan Wedding

Mhm. The public is getting a new look at the man. The FBI director called quote a modern day iteration of Pablo Escobar, former skier, snowboarder Ryan Wedding. Now, CBS News correspondent Tom Hanson has been following these latest developments. Tom, what do we know about the search for Ryan Wedding? Yeah, well, the search is expansive at this point, but we don't exactly know his whereabouts. According to authorities, they say that he is being protected in Mexico by the Sinaloa cartel. But I want to pull up that image again because this is the latest image that we have from the FBI since that press conference last week where they likened him to a modern day Pablo Escobar. So take a look here. You can see this is an image reportedly taken over the summer of him in Mexico. I also want to switch over to the statement itself and give you guys a little bit of a read through of this. Ryan James Wedding is wanted for allegedly running and participating in a transnational drug trafficking operation that routinely shipped hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia through Mexico and southern California to Canada and other locations in the United States. Additionally, it is alleged that Wedding was involved in orchestrating multiple murders during this illicit activity. Now, a little background on Ryan Wedding himself. He competed in the 2002 Olympics and was added to the FBI's most wanted fugitives list in March of this year. Part of a massive international investigation called Operation Giant Slalom. And you might remember last week, Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel called on the public for any tips. They offered a $15 million reward for any information that could lead to his arrest and or prosecution. As I mentioned, his whereabouts somewhat TBD. We know that he is being protected by the Sinaloa cartel, which, of course, as you know, Liz is one of the most notorious drug gangs in all of Latin America. Tom Hanson. Thank you so much for that update.

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