US Prosecutors Say Marset Threatened or Killed Police He Could Not Corrupt
Key Facts
Sebastián Marset, accused of running one of South America’s largest cocaine networks, faces trial in the United States. US prosecutors now say he met resistance from police with threats or killings.
US Justice Department prosecutors said Marset “threatened or killed” police officers he could not corrupt, la diaria reported on 18 September 2026. The filing answers defence motions in the federal court for the Eastern District of Virginia, where the Uruguayan has pleaded not guilty.
Why This Matters
US prosecutors accuse Marset of leading the Primer Cartel Uruguayo, or First Uruguayan Cartel, which they say shipped cocaine to Europe. He was captured in Bolivia in March 2026 and flown to the US, as The Rio Times reported at the time.
Paraguay has sought him in drug and money-laundering cases and investigates him over the 2022 murder of prosecutor Marcelo Pecci. Uruguay had no open case against him at the time of his capture, Ámbito reported, so it could not seek his extradition.
Born in Montevideo in 1991, Marset was convicted in Uruguay in 2013 over a drug shipment and released in 2018. In 2021 he was arrested in Dubai with a fake Paraguayan passport and obtained a Uruguayan passport while detained.
The episode set off a political scandal in Uruguay that led several senior officials to resign. Paraguay’s 2022 operation A Ultranza PY linked his network to more than 16 tons of cocaine seized in Europe.
The Road to Virginia
Pecci was shot dead on 10 May 2022 while on his honeymoon in Cartagena, Colombia. In July 2023, Bolivian police raided Marset’s mansion in the El Urubó area of Santa Cruz, but he escaped.
His wife, Gianina García Troche, was arrested in Spain in 2024 and extradited to Paraguay. Bolivian special forces captured Marset on 13 March 2026 in Santa Cruz’s Las Palmas district, along with four associates.
The US State Department had offered up to US$2 million for information leading to his arrest or conviction, OCCRP reported. The indictment cites a US$31,800 transfer of alleged drug proceeds routed through a Bank of America correspondent in Richmond, Virginia.
It also alleges that about 1,700 kilograms of cocaine left Colombia for Costa Rica on a go-fast boat in June 2024. Colombian authorities recovered about 1,653 kilograms thrown overboard in the Caribbean, according to OCCRP.
Bolivia had accused him of at least six crimes but approved his handover to the United States, Ámbito reported. Paraguay’s interior minister, Enrique Riera, acknowledged that Washington was likely to prevail in the custody contest.
US prosecutors say associates laundered hundreds of millions of dollars for him, largely in the Tether stablecoin. He also registered as a player with Paraguay’s Deportivo Capiatá and ran Bolivia’s Leones de El Torno club, Wikipedia says.
What the Prosecutors Argue
The filing rejects the defence claim that the case amounts to vindictive prosecution, according to la diaria. Prosecutors called Marset one of the world’s most prolific and violent drug traffickers, the Montevideo daily reported.
They argued that the alleged violence served to advance his organisation, protect his freedom and intimidate others. Montevideo Portal reported in June that prosecutors accuse him of ordering a 2020 grenade attack on Uruguay’s anti-drug police headquarters.
The same filing said he ordered threatening messages to Mónica Ferrero, then an anti-drug prosecutor and now Uruguay’s interim attorney general. In September 2025, attackers fired shots and set off a grenade at Ferrero’s home in Montevideo, Infobae reported.
The attack came around 5 a.m. on 29 September in the Brazo Oriental neighbourhood of northern Montevideo. President Yamandú Orsi said there were suspects and solid leads.
And two people were detained, the outlet reported. Interior Minister Carlos Negro called the attack cowardly and said the security forces would not back down.
Phones seized in Libertad prison held information on the gang’s leaders and on contacts with Marset, Infobae said. Investigators suspected a local gang that they said worked in coordination with Marset, according to the same report.
Infobae named the suspected gang as Los Albín and said investigators saw possible revenge for a 2,200-kilogram cocaine seizure. The June indictment also alleges he killed a member of his own organisation around September 2020, Montevideo Portal reported.
It says he ordered the killing of another criminal in Asunción, Paraguay’s capital, on suspicion of helping the authorities. When a DEA agent contacted him in March 2025 to suggest he surrender, he allegedly replied with a threat.
A superseding indictment filed in late June added narcoterrorism conspiracy, cocaine and money-laundering charges to an earlier laundering count. Judge Rossie Alston Jr. has set the trial for 11 January 2027, OCCRP reported.
Marset denies the charges, and he has accused DEA agents of trying to extort about US$4 million in cryptocurrency. His defence is challenging his expulsion from Bolivia and statements he made while being taken to a detention centre in Alexandria.
The Trial Timetable
At a 26 June hearing, prosecutor Anthony Aminoff sought a March 2027 date, citing witnesses from Belgium and Colombia. Defence lawyer Robert Feitel asked for November, and the judge settled on January, expecting a trial of two weeks or more.
Feitel told the court his client would go to trial the next day if he could, OCCRP reported. Aminoff called it a logistically complex trial that needs visas, translators and foreign government approval for testimony.
What It Means If You Follow the Region
For Uruguay, a US trial could air evidence about the officers prosecutors say Marset tried to corrupt or intimidate. For Paraguay, its own cases, including the Pecci murder inquiry, must wait while he is held in the United States.
For governments across South America, the case shows Washington using narcoterrorism charges against regional cocaine networks. OCCRP noted that the statute dates from 2005 and that its use against organised crime has grown since January 2025.
What Is Not Yet Known
The public part of la diaria’s report does not say which killings the new filing refers to. None of the violence allegations has been tested in court, and Marset is presumed innocent.
The court has not yet ruled on the defence motions that the filing answers. It is also unclear whether Paraguay will pursue its own charges after the US trial.
It is not known whether the court will hold a hearing on the defence motions before January. It is also unclear whether Uruguay will open its own case over the 2020 grenade attack or the threats to Ferrero.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does the Marset case matter?
US prosecutors accuse him of leading the First Uruguayan Cartel, which they say shipped cocaine to Europe. The case could expose how the network allegedly corrupted or threatened police in several countries.
Where is Sebastián Marset being prosecuted?
He faces charges in the federal court for the Eastern District of Virginia, with trial set for January 2027. Paraguay also has cases against him.
What violence do prosecutors allege?
They link him to a 2020 grenade attack on Uruguay’s anti-drug police and threats to prosecutor Mónica Ferrero. The indictment also alleges two killings of criminals, which he has not been convicted of.
Has Marset been convicted in the United States?
No. He has pleaded not guilty, and the allegations against him have not been proven in court.
Sources: la diaria, prosecutors’ response to Marset’s motions, Montevideo Portal, new charges and threats against Ferrero, OCCRP, trial date in Virginia, OCCRP, narcoterrorism charge added, Infobae, the 2025 attack on Mónica Ferrero’s home, Wikipedia, Sebastián Marset, Ámbito, which countries sought Marset, The Rio Times, Marset captured in Bolivia
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief