— Uruguayan drug lord Sebastián Marset was captured in a pre-dawn raid in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, and immediately transferred to DEA custody for transport to the United States
— Marset led the “First Uruguayan Cartel,” coordinating cocaine shipments from Bolivia through Paraguay to Europe via networks linked to Brazil’s PCC and Italy’s ‘Ndrangheta
— The capture ends a three-year manhunt during which Marset escaped a 2023 Bolivian operation, taunted authorities on video, and was linked to the assassination of a Paraguayan anti-mafia prosecutor
One of the most wanted drug traffickers in the Western Hemisphere is in American custody. Sebastián Marset, the Uruguayan leader of a transnational cocaine network that the DEA ranked among its top five global fugitives, was captured in a massive pre-dawn raid in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, on Friday and flown from Viru Viru International Airport to the United States within hours. The Marset capture ends a pursuit that spanned three countries, embarrassed multiple governments, and exposed the penetration of organized crime across South America’s law enforcement institutions. This is part of The Rio Times’ comprehensive coverage of Latin American financial markets and global developments affecting them.
Marset Capture: The Pre-Dawn Raid
Bolivia’s anti-narcotics force FELCN launched the operation at 2:00 a.m. in the Las Palmas neighborhood, roughly four kilometers from central Santa Cruz. Officers in full combat gear surrounded a residential property where Marset was found with armored vehicles and a heavy security detail. Four associates of various nationalities were arrested alongside the 33-year-old kingpin, and weapons were seized. An additional 200 elite police were airlifted from El Alto to reinforce the perimeter while regional airports were placed under heightened security.
Paraguay’s anti-drug chief Jalil Rachid confirmed the capture in real time, telling media his Bolivian counterparts had informed him before 7:00 a.m. that Marset was “secured.” The speed of the transfer to DEA custody suggests a pre-arranged extradition or rendition agreement — a detail Bolivian authorities had not yet publicly clarified as of midday. The U.S. had offered a $2 million reward for information leading to Marset’s arrest and indicted him in May 2025 on conspiracy to commit money laundering through American banks.
From Marijuana Mule to Continental Cartel Boss
Marset’s criminal trajectory mirrors the evolution of South American drug trafficking itself. First arrested in 2013 for transporting 450 kilograms of marijuana, he served five years in Uruguay’s notorious Libertad prison. Upon release in 2018, he built a cocaine pipeline running from Bolivian production zones through Paraguay and into European ports, partnering with Brazil’s First Capital Command (PCC) and Italy’s ‘Ndrangheta to control the transatlantic leg. His network, dubbed the “First Uruguayan Cartel” (PCU), was linked to the May 2022 assassination of Paraguayan anti-mafia prosecutor Marcelo Pecci in Colombia — a murder that shocked the region and prompted multiple convictions.
A 2021 arrest in Dubai for carrying a fake passport should have ended his run, but Uruguay’s government sent him a legitimate passport, enabling his release — a scandal that cost several ministers their jobs. Marset relocated to Bolivia, living openly under a false identity until a botched 2023 raid from which he escaped and later posted a video accusing the FELCN chief of accepting a bribe. As The Rio Times has reported, Bolivia’s Santa Cruz department has long been a corridor for cocaine trafficking, and the Marset case exposed the degree to which cartel money had compromised state institutions.
Regional Implications
The capture is a significant win for Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz, who had publicly called on citizens to help locate the fugitive. Criminologist Gabriela Reyes attributed the operation’s success to renewed political will at the presidential level. For Washington, Marset joins a growing roster of high-value targets neutralized in the hemisphere since Trump’s return to office, including Venezuela’s Maduro and Mexico’s “El Mencho.” Paraguay, which has an open case against Marset and wants him for the Pecci assassination investigation, may compete with the U.S. for judicial access. Rachid acknowledged the jurisdictional tension: “Many countries will claim his head.” For now, American courts will have first say — and the intelligence Marset carries about cocaine logistics across three continents may prove more valuable than any single conviction.