Sheinbaum Rejects Joint U.S. Operation in Ryan Wedding Case
Sheinbaum says Mexican forces handled Ryan Wedding's transfer to the U.S., disputing FBI Director Kash Patel's 'high-risk' capture account.
CNNRyan Wedding: Mexico’s president pushes back on FBI Director Kash Patel’s telling of pro-snowboarder’s arrest | Politics
ABC NewsMexico's Sheinbaum reiterates sovereignty in Trump call after Olympic snowboarder detained
NewsmaxMexico's Sheinbaum Reiterates Sovereignty in Trump Call after Olympic Snowboarder Detained
Overview
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Mexican forces handled operations on Mexican soil and that Canadian Ryan Wedding voluntarily surrendered at the U.S. embassy, officials including U.S. Ambassador Ronald Johnson confirmed.
FBI Director Kash Patel said agents captured Wedding in a "high-risk" joint operation with Mexican forces, a version prosecutors and Sheinbaum contest amid conflicting accounts.
Omar García Harfuch, Mexico's secretary of security, and U.S. Ambassador Ronald Johnson said Wedding surrendered, while Wedding's attorney Anthony Colombo denied that account, his office said.
Ryan Wedding, a former Olympic snowboarder listed among the FBI's ten most wanted, pleaded not guilty to U.S. cocaine trafficking charges in a California court on Monday and had been hiding in Mexico for a decade, officials said.
Sheinbaum told President Donald Trump in a phone call on Thursday they discussed trade, the border and drug trafficking but not Wedding's arrest, and she reiterated Mexico will not accept U.S. joint operations on its territory, she said.
Analysis
Center-leaning sources frame the story as a sovereignty clash by emphasizing Sheinbaum’s repeated refusals of U.S. operations, juxtaposing her remarks with contradicting official accounts of the arrest, and linking the incident to broader U.S. actions (the Venezuela operation). Terms like 'contradicted' and 'anxieties' subtly push concern over U.S. encroachment.