A Mexican federal judge, Luis Benitez Alcantara, has been arrested in Colombia over allegations he took a $2 million bribe to help release a Canadian cocaine-trafficking suspect. The U.S. Department of Justice said Benitez, 49, was arrested November 1 and charged with nine counts of being an accessory after the fact. The case stems from a Mexico City judge’s alleged role in extradition proceedings involving Andrew Clark, 36. Prosecutors allege Benitez exploited his position as a district judge overseeing Clark’s extradition case in Mexico. They say the judicial decisions were made in exchange for about $2 million. Clark, accused of a senior leadership role in a criminal organization tied to former Olympic snowboarder Ryan James Wedding, was arrested in Mexico in October 2024 on U.S. charges involving drug trafficking, murder, and attempted murder. Federal prosecutors allege that between November 2024 and February 2025, Clark transferred about $2.75 million through intermediaries in multiple smaller transactions intended to secure his release from Mexican custody. Authorities say the full $2 million was paid to Benitez on the day he granted bond and ordered Clark’s release. Clark was rearrested several days later and transferred to the United States, where the prosecution remains pending. Benitez’s arrest adds another legal proceeding to the international investigation, which also involves authorities in Colombia, Mexico, the United States, and Canada. Benitez was charged through a second superseding indictment returned September 4, 2026. If convicted, prosecutors say he faces a statutory maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison on each of the nine accessory-after-the-fact counts, with any final sentence depending on federal sentencing rules. The DOJ has announced its intention to request Benitez’s extradition from Colombia. He has been arrested, but no conviction or sentence has been announced.