Name: We went to the Sinaloa cartel to ask about Olympian
Uploaded: 2025-12-22T02:18:12.814Z
Duration: 7 min 1 s
Description: The FBI alleges Ryan Wedding, a Canadian former snowboarder turned suspected drug kingpin, is being protected by a Sinaloa cartel in Mexico. Guided by veteran fixer Miguel Angel Vega, CBC News speaks with a member of the cartel about Wedding and the claims surrounding him.

The FBI alleges Ryan Wedding, a Canadian former snowboarder turned suspected drug kingpin, is being protected by a Sinaloa cartel in Mexico. Guided by veteran fixer Miguel Angel Vega, CBC News speaks with a member of the cartel about Wedding and the claims surrounding him.

Mexico City

CBC News conducted an in-depth investigation in Culiacan, Mexico, focusing on allegations that the Sinaloa cartel is protecting Ryan Wedding, a Canadian Olympian accused of being a major figure in drug trafficking. The team interviewed a cartel member, who downplayed Wedding's significance, and documented the violence and instability affecting the region.

The report also highlights the impact of cartel conflict on local residents, with increased violence leading to displacement and fear among civilians. Mexican authorities have responded by boosting their presence, while many families, such as that of Maria Guadalupe Rodriguez, have been forced to flee their homes and seek safety in Culiacan.

We went to the Sinaloa cartel to ask about Olympian

We're about to meet with someone who's part of the Sinaloa cartel. And there's one question we want to ask. What do they know about Ryan Wedding? Make no mistake about it, Ryan Wedding is a modern day iteration of El Chapo Guzman. Ryan Wedding remains one of the top threats to Canadian public safety. He's being protected by the Sinaloa cartel. For months, CBC has been following the case of Canadian Olympian-turned-alleged-narco-kingpin Ryan Wedding. Now we travel to Culiacan in northwestern Mexico, home to the Sinaloa cartel, one of the most powerful drug trafficking groups in the world. A group U.S. and Canadian authorities say is protecting Wedding. Our guide on this journey, a Sinaloan journalist, who says finding information on Wedding may be tough amid the chaos plaguing the city. We just got a text from our guy, the cartel guy. Miguel Angel Vega gets the pin for the location of our interview with a gunman from the Sinaloa cartel. As we get close to the spot, for security reasons we are not revealing his identity. His voice is also distorted. He says he's heard the name of Ryan Wedding. He says the U.S. has inflated Wedding's profile. Despite the claims from Canadian and U.S. law enforcement. It looks like there was an execution. Now this is an everyday scene, it happens all the time. That's why people in Culiacan are so feared because they are afraid that something might happen to them. You never know. And now you never know if you're coming back. This victim is in his 50s. Family members arrive, a hole punched in their lives. A couple hours later, paramedic Julio Cesar Vega gets a call. A gunshot victim in Culiacan's downtown. Police get to him first and take him to this hospital. The victim escaped a kidnapping and was shot while fleeing. He's transferred to another hospital to protect him against a second attempt on his life. Back at the headquarters of a volunteer paramedic service that he founded, Julio Cesar Vega arranges his kits. He says gunshot wounds make up around 70% of his calls he gets now. This is the place where the war inside the Sinaloa cartel began. The cartel was once headed by Joaquin El Chapo Guzman and Ismael El Mayo Zambada, who was kidnapped here by El Chapo's son in July 2024. The war between Chapo and Mayo Loyalists exploded on September 9th, 2024. Adrian Lopez is the director of the newspaper Noreste. He says Sinaloa may now be living through its most violent period ever. Back in the cartel's safehouse. Mexican authorities have increased their presence in response to the cartel war. We followed the National Guard to a checkpoint and on a patrol. Major General Julises Gonzalez Calzada leads the National Guard in Sinaloa. As for Ryan Wedding? He says his work is focused on pacifying the region. He says much of the killings are contained between factions of the cartel. He says the security situation is improving. Maria Guadalupe Rodriguez says she fled her home by foot with her three children last October, from the countryside north of Culiacan, when armed men showed up and ordered everyone to leave. She brought her daughter here to this park for a Christmas picnic, organized by volunteers for over 800 families that have been displaced by the conflict. Rodriguez says she doesn't know when, if ever, she'll return to her village. For now, she plans to rebuild her life here in Culiacan and wait the war out.

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