ɫɫ��

The 34-year-old was arrested by Mexican armed forces in Zapopan, Jalisco, on Oct. 8, 2024, for his alleged involvement in a massive drug ring that U.S authorities say routinely smuggled tonnes of cocaine into Canada.

Clark “played a key role in running a violent, international drug trafficking organization that was responsible for multiple murders,” Acting United States Attorney Joseph T. McNally said in a statement.

“We are grateful to have him in the United States where he will face justice.”

Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera, a political science professor at George Mason University who specializes in Mexico-U.S. relations and organized crime, said the sheer number of people handed over to the United States at once is “unprecedented.”

Trump’s threat of military intervention in Mexico and the imposition of tariffs “is really working in ways that haven’t been anticipated,” she said.

Correa-Cabrera said Mexico is deploying resources to appease its neighbour because it knows that if 25 per cent tariffs are imposed, they “will destroy the Mexican economy in the very short term.”

That said, Correa-Cabrera doubts the move will make any real difference in addressing drug-related violence and overdose deaths. When former Sinaloa Cartel leader (El Chapo) was extradited to the U.S. in January 2017 — at the beginning of Trump’s first term — nothing changed, she noted.

According to the FBI, Clark was “the second in command” of the operation after Wedding, a former elite snowboarder who competed for Canada at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

Together, the pair allegedly co-ordinated drug shipments spanning multiple borders and ordered hits on enemies of the organization — including an Indian couple mistakenly killed in retaliation for a stolen drug shipment.

The shooting on Nov. 20, 2023 killed Jagtar Singh Sidhu, 57, and his wife, Harbhajan Kaur Sidhu, 55. The pair had only been visiting their adult kids in Canada for a few months. Their daughter was also shot — 13 times — and survived.

The gunmen still haven’t been caught, but U.S. authorities allege Wedding and Clark are responsible for orchestrating the killings — in addition to two other execution-style murders in Ontario.

The FBI has previously said Clark and Wedding had been living in Mexico under the protection of the notorious Sinaloa Cartel, once led by Joaquín (El Chapo) Guzmán. Investigators believe Wedding may still be there.

According to Mexico’s top civilian security official, Omar García Harfuch, Clark acted as a “logistical link” between the Sinaloa Cartel and The Jalisco New Generation Cartel — an emerging drug cartel reportedly led by a former Mexican cop nicknamed “El Mencho.”

Earlier this month, Canada designated both cartels as terrorist groups under the Criminal Code, part of a negotiation with the Trump administration to defer tariffs.

Correa-Cabrera said she expects Trump’s treatment of cartels as terrorist organizations to have knock-on when it comes time for sentencing, but cautioned that it remains to be seen what that looks like. 

“That denomination of foreign terrorist organizations apply to those that have connections with cartels or helping the cartels on U.S. territory,” she said, noting that some of the extradited figures are, therefore, accused of being “leaders of terrorist groups.”

Clark, who is said to go by aliases that include “The Dictator,” and “El Niño problemático” (the problem child, in English), is charged with eight felonies, including two counts conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, conspiracy to export cocaine and four counts of murder in connection with continuing a criminal enterprise and drug crime.

He is one of 16 people charged in the indictment unveiled by the FBI last October — a sprawling prosecution whose status was recently thrown into question following the apparent assassination of a key confidential witness in Colombia.

On Thursday, from the office of U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi listed Clark as one of several among the 29 cartel figures who faces the death penalty, if convicted. 

The threat of the U.S. death penalty has long been a barrier to extradition; many countries — including and Mexico — will generally refuse to extradite suspects without assurances capital punishment will not be applied.

In a separate announcement on Friday, the U.S. Department of Justice explained that Clark faces a mandatory minimum of life in prison for charges of continuing a criminal enterprise. The murder charges carry a minimum of 20 years in prison while the drug trafficking charges carry minimum penalties of 10 years.

Clark as an elevator mechanic, landlord

The details surrounding Clark’s connections to the world of crime remain unclear. During the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020, Clark revealed to ɫɫ�� Life that he worked as an elevator mechanic and landlord for three years.

Property records show he and his wife still own properties in southern Ontario, including one near ɫɫ��.

“I have seven tenants in six properties, and two of them have lost their jobs to the pandemic,” he said in correspondence to ɫɫ�� Life reviewed by the Star.

Clark said he’d offer those tenants discounts because showing compassion was better. Asked if the hit to their income affected them, Clark said: “We are lucky I have a good job and we are very frugal.”

Two of 16 people accused in drug ring remain at large

Clark is being held in custody in Arizona and is expected to join several other co-defendants in the case in California, where they will be tried.

“He’ll make his initial appearance in Phoenix, but will soon be sent to Los Angeles for his other court dates,” Ciaran McEvoy, spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in L.A., told the Star in an email.

Of the 16 people named in the indictment announced, 10 are Canadian. All but two co-defendants — Wedding and Canadian Gennadii Bilonog, an alleged dispatcher for the network — have been arrested and charged. Some in the U.S. have since been released on bail.

Four remain in Canadian custody pending an extradition hearing, including Gurpreet Singh and his uncle, Hardeep Ratte, the alleged leaders of the transportation network for the drug trafficking operation.

Wedding negotiated deal for co-accused held hostage

Singh, 31, who with his uncle is accused of co-ordinating two cocaine shipments totalling more than 650 kilograms into Canada, appeared in a ɫɫ�� courtroom on Friday morning for the third day of his bail hearing.

Tall with broad shoulders, dark brown hair and a full beard, Singh was seated in the prisoner’s box sporting a turtle neck and grey suit, the tattoos on his hands and neck slightly exposed.

At various times during the proceeding, he turned around and smiled at friends and family in the gallery.

Over the last few days, the court heard from Singh’s parents — who are among the proposed sureties — who pledged $1.6 million for his release.

His family has also proposed bail conditions that would require Singh to wear an electronic bracelet, stay at home and not speak to Ratte.

Earlier in the week, the court heard how Singh travelled to Mexico last summer to resolve a $600,000 drug debt with a cartel leader. Days after arriving, prosecutors said he had been kidnapped and held hostage.

Wedding eventually had to step in and, according to communications obtained by U.S. authorities, negotiated Singh’s release with the cartel over the next five days.