The United States has imposed sweeping sanctions on Ryan James Wedding, a former Canadian Olympic snowboarder who has transformed from celebrated athlete to one of the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives. Far removed from his early career on the slopes, Wedding now stands accused of orchestrating a sprawling, multi-billion-dollar cocaine-trafficking empire stretching across the Americas. The US Treasury’s designation marks the latest escalation in a high-stakes, multinational effort to dismantle what officials describe as one of the most violent and sophisticated drug networks currently operating in the Western Hemisphere.

Wedding, who represented Canada in snowboarding during the 1998 and 2002 Winter Olympics, is believed to be hiding in Mexico under the protection of powerful criminal groups. According to US authorities, his cartel-style operation has for years funneled enormous quantities of cocaine from Colombia and Mexico into major distribution hubs in the United States and Canada. What began as a promising sports career appears to have mutated into a life immersed in transnational cartel warfare, corruption, and systematically executed violence.

Investigators portray Wedding as a criminal entrepreneur who blended athletic discipline with ruthless operational planning. His alleged network moved multi-ton shipments of cocaine-often ferried through Mexico’s Pacific coast-using a supply chain mimicking that of major corporations. Sophisticated transportation routes, safe houses, logistics teams, and cross-border partnerships allowed the organization to maintain a steady flow of narcotics even as enforcement pressure mounted.

But US officials emphasize that Wedding’s syndicate distinguished itself not just by its scale........

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