Luis Benítez Alcántara, a Mexican judge accused of accepting a bribe to release a transnational cocaine smuggler, was arrested in Colombia on Sunday after the U.S. charged him with nine counts of being an accessory after the fact.

Benítez, according to a Thursday announcement from the U.S. Department of Justice, accepted a $2 million bribe from Canadian national Ryan Clark, who the DOJ alleges was second-in-command to former Olympic snowboarder Ryan J. Wedding in the latter’s international drug dealing empire.

«Benítez Alcántara was a district judge in Mexico City who allegedly accepted $2 million in exchange for granting bond to and ordering the release of Wedding’s second in command, while Wedding was orchestrating a billion-dollar transnational criminal organization and the largest supplier of cocaine to Canada with connections in Colombia, Mexico, and the U.S.,» FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement.

US CHARGES MEXICAN GOVERNOR, TOP OFFICIALS IN CARTEL CONSPIRACY AS MEXICO FIRES BACK OVER PROOF

Clark was initially arrested in Guadalajara, Mexico on Oct. 8, 2024, according to a superseding indictment. He appeared in front of Benítez for extradition proceedings on Oct. 9 after the U.S. requested his extradition.

Beginning in Nov. 2024, Clark sent approximately $2.75 million to intermediaries over the course of four months, according to the indictment. On Feb. 24, 2025, Benítez received $2 million in payments from those intermediaries and granted Clark bond and release that same day, per the indictment.

Among the nine counts, Benítez is charged with being an accessory after the fact to aid and abet Clark.

Clark and Wedding are also charged with murder, conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine and continuing a criminal enterprise, according to the indictment.

If convicted, Benítez faces up to 15 years in federal prison.

«Crooked public officials, no matter where they are, who assist drug traffickers operating here at home will face justice in the United States,» Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement.

«Thanks to the work of the Homeland Security Task Force and our international law enforcement partners, Mr. Benítez will be held accountable. The Department of Justice will continue identifying and dismantling transnational criminal organizations that threaten the safety of the American people,» Blanche concluded.

HIGHEST-RANKING TREN DE ARAGUA MEMBER EVER EXTRADITED TO US SET TO APPEAR IN HOUSTON COURTROOM: DOJ

Despite Benítez’s role in granting Clark bond and release, Mexican law enforcement officers arrested Clark again days later and handed him over to U.S. authorities on Feb. 27, 2025.

Following Clark’s arrest, he cooperated with FBI and U.S. officials in supplying information about his and Wedding’s roles in their criminal enterprise, according to a DOJ indictment against Wedding.

KASH PATEL DEFENDS FBI’S ‘MOST WANTED’ BUSTS AMID MANIPULATION ACCUSATIONS, HIGHLIGHTS ‘SUMMER HEAT’ SUCCESS

Wedding, a former member of the FBI’s Top 10 Most Wanted List, was arrested in Mexico in January 2026.

In addition to running a cocaine distribution empire that the indictment alleges imported the majority of illicit cocaine into Canada, Wedding is also accused of orchestrating the murders of numerous informants and other affiliates of his illicit activities.

5 MEXICAN CARTEL BOSSES CHARGED IN WEAPONS, DRUG TRAFFICKING, TIMESHARE FRAUD SCHEMES, DOJ SAYS

In January, he pleaded not guilty to federal charges of running a criminal enterprise, murder, conspiring to distribute cocaine and other crimes.

His empire allegedly worked in concert with the powerful Mexican Sinaloa Cartel to move and distribute cocaine through Colombia, Mexico and the rest of North America, according to the indictment.

«This individual and his organization and the Sinaloa cartel poured narcotics into the streets of North America and killed too many of our youth and corrupted too many of our citizens. And that ends today,» FBI Director Kash Patel said in January after Wedding’s arrest.

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ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — At the opening of the world’s largest energy conference in Abu Dhabi, artificial intelligence took center stage alongside oil and gas as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman joined senior UAE officials for the announcement of a major partnership aimed at bringing advanced AI into the energy industry.

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The opening ceremony of ADIPEC 2026, attended by Fox News Digital, brought together senior government officials and energy industry leaders at a time when the war involving Iran and disruptions to the Strait of Hormuz have placed extraordinary pressure on global energy supplies.

But amid discussions about oil production, shipping routes and energy security, Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, the UAE’s minister of industry and advanced technology and chief executive of state-owned energy giant ADNOC, delivered a different challenge to the technology industry.

OIL SQUEEZE TIGHTENS AS IRAN-BACKED ATTACKS CRIPPLE HORMUZ ESCAPE ROUTES

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From left, Mark Chen, Chief Research Officer at OpenAI; Sam Altman, CEO at OpenAI; Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi; Ahmed Al Kuttab, Chairman at the Department of Government Enablement – Abu Dhabi (DGE) announce the Machine-Readable Government initiative in Abu Dhabi (Abu Dhabi Media Office)

«From the moment ChatGPT was born, the world has asked what energy can do for AI. And now, together, we will find out what AI can do for energy,» Al Jaber told the audience, introducing a partnership between ADNOC, OpenAI and Abu Dhabi-based technology company G42.

The announcement marked a significant step in the UAE’s ambition to become a global center for artificial intelligence, using its energy resources, financial strength and growing partnerships with American technology companies to help shape the industry’s future.

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Yet the question of what AI can actually deliver for the energy industry goes beyond the technology announcements.

THE AI REVOLUTION WILL GO WHEREVER THERE’S ELECTRICITY — AND CHINA KNOWS IT

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speaks at the opening ceremony of ADIPEC 2026 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Nov. 2, 2026, as ADNOC, OpenAI and G42 announced a major partnership to bring artificial intelligence into the energy industry. (Efrat Lachter/Fox News Digital)

Speaking exclusively to Fox News Digital on the sidelines of the conference, Dr. Angela Wilkinson, secretary general and CEO of the World Energy Council, said the most encouraging element of the presentations by Altman and Al Jaber was their focus on the role of people.

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«That it isn’t about AI taking decisions for humanity, it’s about AI enabling people to make better decisions,» Wilkinson said.

Wilkinson argued that the growing relationship between energy and AI should be understood not simply as a way to automate industrial processes, but as an opportunity to expand human capabilities.

«I think what really cheered me up most is the recognition that it’s a people-centric conversation on both sides of the equation,» she said.

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ONE OF AMERICA’S OLDEST MANUFACTURERS SAYS AI IS CREATING JOBS — NOT REPLACING THEM

Dr. Angela Wilkinson, secretary general and CEO of the World Energy Council, speaks with Fox News Digital at ADIPEC 2026 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, about the future of global energy markets, the growing role of artificial intelligence and the need for greater resilience amid regional instability. (Efrat Lachter/Fox News Digital)

Amos Hochstein, a managing partner at TWG Global and a former senior adviser to President Joe Biden, welcomed the potential benefits of the new OpenAI-UAE partnership but warned that the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence must be balanced against its financial and societal costs.

Speaking to Fox News Digital at ADIPEC, Hochstein said, «The energy sector is going to be one of the big beneficiaries of AI coming into the sector.» But he cautioned that the U.S. must remain a leader in advanced AI while ensuring Americans are not left paying the price for its expansion, calling on the Trump administration to work more closely with industry and other sectors of society to maximize the benefits and minimize the risks.

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The ADNOC partnership is intended to connect advanced AI systems across the company’s operations, from oilfield development and reservoir management to refining, logistics and commercial trading.

According to ADNOC, one of the initial applications will bring together decades of information from thousands of oil wells, multiple reservoirs and hundreds of facilities, with the goal of completing complex development plans in hours rather than months.

The company says the technology could improve operational efficiency, lower costs and help energy producers respond more quickly to changing market conditions. Those projected improvements have not yet been independently demonstrated.

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For the UAE, the initiative represents something larger than a single agreement.

AI ISN’T JUST A PROBLEM, IT’S A SOLUTION. SOME PEOPLE ARE ALREADY MAKING THE MOST OF IT

Unmanned AI-led vessels on display at the 2026 ADIPEC conference on Nov. 2, 2026. (Efrat Lachter/ Fox News Digital)

The country is already a partner in the planned Stargate UAE project, a major computing infrastructure initiative involving American technology companies. The project is part of Abu Dhabi’s broader effort to establish itself as an international AI hub.

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In a separate interview with Fox News Digital in Dubai, Mohammed Baharoon, director general of the research center B’huth, described the country’s technological ambitions as an evolution from exporting barrels of oil to exporting digital computing capacity.

Baharoon said the rise of AI could produce an economic transformation comparable to previous industrial revolutions, creating new industries and opportunities even as existing professions are disrupted.

But he cautioned that governments are struggling to keep pace with the technology’s development.

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«We will need to bring in the concepts of regulation at the point of development, not after the development has happened,» Baharoon told Fox News Digital.

He argued that governments and technology companies need to begin addressing potential dangers while systems are being created, rather than waiting until they have already entered widespread use.

THE BIGGEST THREAT IN AMERICA’S RACE WITH CHINA ISN’T BEIJING, TECH EXECUTIVE WARNS

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Attendees gather at ADIPEC 2026, one of the world’s largest energy conferences, held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Nov. 2–5, 2026, as industry leaders discuss global energy security, technological innovation and the growing role of artificial intelligence. (Efrat Lachter/Fox News Digital)

The question of human control was also central to Altman’s remarks at ADIPEC.

During a panel, Altman argued that AI should remain a tool serving people rather than replacing human decision-making.

The OpenAI chief also acknowledged a fundamental challenge facing his own industry: The enormous amount of energy required to power increasingly capable AI systems.

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Asked to identify his biggest challenge, Altman answered with a single word: «Energy.»

The exchange illustrated the complicated relationship between two industries that are becoming increasingly dependent on each other.

AI companies need vast quantities of electricity to operate data centers, while energy producers are increasingly looking to AI to improve efficiency, optimize production and identify vulnerabilities before they disrupt supplies.

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AI BOOM: DEMAND FOR DATA CENTERS DRIVES INNOVATION BY ENERGY, TECH INDUSTRIES TO PRODUCE NEW POWER SOURCES

Racks of graphics processing units (GPUs) with a closed-loop liquid cooling system are seen inside an operational Microsoft data center. (Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images)

The stakes are particularly high in the Gulf, where the war involving Iran and disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz have forced energy producers to reconsider how they protect infrastructure and ensure supplies reach international markets.

In his opening address, Al Jaber warned that nearly a billion barrels had been drawn from global oil inventories since the disruption of Hormuz, illustrating how quickly geopolitical instability can affect global energy supplies.

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The ADNOC chief presented artificial intelligence as one element of a broader effort to strengthen operational resilience, arguing that companies must develop systems capable of anticipating problems rather than simply responding after disruptions occur.

ONE OF THE WORLD’S HOTTEST INDUSTRIES IS SPARKING A BLUE-COLLAR JOBS BOOM

The exhibition floor at ADIPEC 2026 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, where global energy companies showcased new technologies and innovations amid growing concerns over energy security and regional instability. (Efrat Lachter/Fox News Digital)

Altman, meanwhile, praised the UAE’s commitment to adopting AI across government and industry, describing it as the world’s most forward-looking country in embracing the technology.

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For Abu Dhabi, the emerging partnership between its traditional energy industry and the world’s leading AI companies offers an opportunity to extend its economic influence beyond oil exports.

But whether these investments ultimately deliver the promised improvements in productivity, energy security and technological innovation remains to be seen.

AI data center. (Kurt «CyberGuy» Knutsson)

As the discussions at ADIPEC demonstrated, the question is no longer simply how much energy the AI revolution will require, but whether artificial intelligence can help solve some of the very energy challenges its growth is creating.

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Efrat (Effie) Lachter is a reporter for Fox News Digital with more than 15 years of experience covering conflict, global affairs, human rights and political accountability. She has directed and produced more than 200 documentary segments across more than 40 countries, documenting conflicts, humanitarian crises, corruption, human trafficking, gender-based violence and the human stories behind major world events. 

Lachter’s reporting has taken her into conflict zones and crisis areas across the Middle East, Europe, Asia and Africa. Her work has included uncovering human trafficking networks, revealing an ISIS underground torture prison in Syria, documenting the war in Ukraine and interviewing senior political figures and world leaders. She was also among the Western journalists who entered Russia after the war began to bring testimonies from Putin’s opposition. Lachter is the recipient of the 2022 Peres Center for Peace Award and was a 2023–2024 Knight-Wallace Journalism Fellow at the University of Michigan. She also won two Rockower Awards for Excellence in Reporting. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communication and a master’s degree in political science.

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Voters in five states overwhelmingly approved ballot measures barring noncitizens from voting, including Kansas, where Democrats scored a major Senate upset, and Alaska, where the Senate race remains uncalled.

Federal law already prohibits noncitizens from voting in federal elections, but measures approved in Kansas, Alaska, Arkansas, South Dakota and West Virginia clarify or explicitly codify citizenship requirements for voting in state and local elections, with support exceeding 60% in each state. 

Election integrity advocates pointed to the results as evidence supporting President Donald Trump and Republicans’ argument that their push to require proof of citizenship for federal voter registration has «overwhelming bipartisan support.»

REPUBLICANS SUFFER HISTORIC SENATE UPSET AS DEM FLIPS DEEP-RED STATE FOR FIRST TIME IN NEARLY A CENTURY

«I would absolutely agree that noncitizen voting bans are overwhelmingly popular,» Jason Snead, executive director of Honest Elections Project, told Digital. «They enjoy bipartisan support.»

A 2024 Gallup poll found that 83% of Americans, including 66% of Democrats, support requiring first-time voters to provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote.

The ballot measure wins also come as the conservative-majority Supreme Court prepares to consider a related dispute over whether Arizona can require proof of citizenship on its state voter registration form and remove suspected noncitizens from the rolls before an election, a ruling that could affect how states enforce citizenship requirements.

Related election measures failed in California and Arizona. California’s Proposition 39 was defeated 58.5% to 41.4%, a margin of roughly 17 percentage points; the measure would have required voter ID and additional citizenship-verification procedures.

«I would note that the unique thing there is not only that California is openly hostile to the idea of trying to prevent noncitizen voting in terms of its elected leadership, but also the left poured more than $30 million into the ballot measure campaign to defeat that,» Snead told Digital.

Snead said Arizona’s measure was broader legislation that included several provisions beyond noncitizen voting, which may have contributed to its defeat.

The victories for the measures barring noncitizens from voting follow the Trump administration and congressional Republicans’ failed efforts to pass the SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship to register to vote.

ARIZONA VOTER LAW FIGHT REACHES SCOTUS AS ELECTION GROUPS WARN ‘ABSURD’ CONSEQUENCE COULD ENSUE

The SAVE America Act also became a flashpoint in Congress, with Republicans and Democrats sparring over whether to attach it to a budget reconciliation package. Trump’s effort to tie the bill to Department of Homeland Security funding contributed to a prolonged standoff during the department’s shutdown. 

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Republicans lacked the votes to pass it, while Democrats argued it would disenfranchise eligible voters.

Hans von Spakovsky, a former member of the Federal Election Commission and senior legal fellow of Advancing American Freedom, said the Democratic Party is completely «divorced» from its voters.

Snead agreed, saying Democrats took a «90-10 issue» and turned it into a highly politicized fight.

«The left is far out of step with the American public, and they really should be answering the question, ‘Why are you opposed to something that 90% of the public is in favor of?» Snead said. 

«Only citizens should vote in our elections. And if you believe, as the left claims to, in democracy, well then, we should start by making sure that we have free and fair elections that are decided only by American citizens.»

But while Spakovsky applauded the passage of the ballot measures, he warned they could prove ineffective unless states are allowed to verify voters’ citizenship.

«Look, I’m glad those states passed that referendum, but those provisions aren’t going to be much good unless states are able to do two things,» Spakovsky said.

Spakovsky pointed to Republican National Committee v. Mi Familia Vota, a case in which the Supreme Court will decide whether federal law prevents Arizona from requiring documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections and from removing suspected noncitizens from its voter rolls. 

He said the ruling could affect how effectively states can enforce citizenship requirements.

ELECTION EXPERT SOUNDS ALARM ON HOW NONCITIZENS ARE LANDING ON VOTER ROLLS

Snead said simply checking a box attesting to citizenship on a federal form has not been sufficient.

«As we have seen in a number of recent arrests by the Justice Department, with indictments going out against noncitizens, and with the failures of the automatic voter registration system in New Jersey, which added 6,600 noncitizens to the rolls, with almost 400 of them voting, we clearly have been let down by that check-a-box system,» Snead said.

However, Spakovsky said a ruling in favor of Arizona would only go so far, arguing that proof of citizenship would only apply to future voter registrations.

«The only way for them to try to check the citizenship of people who are already registered is by using the SAVE database at the Department of Homeland Security, and with complete control of Congress, I have no doubt that one of the first things Democrats will do is try to defund the database so that states can’t use it,» Spakovsky said.

Snead applauded the Trump administration’s efforts to expand states’ access to the SAVE database to clean up their voter rolls, arguing the previous process of tracking down ineligible voters was «cumbersome.» He also voiced concerns that Democrats will gut the database.

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«I would not be surprised if they try to defund the entire safe system or pass legislation to prevent its use for cleaning up voter rolls,» Snead said.

«I think that we are fast approaching the point where it is fair to say, ‘Why are Democrats actively pushing for noncitizen voting?’» Snead continued. «I think that’s the direction that we are going.»

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