Updated March 17, 2026 — Sebastian Marset, a 34-year-old Uruguayan accused of running a large cocaine-trafficking network, made his first appearance in a U.S. federal court after being transferred into American custody.
Marset faces a money-laundering conspiracy charge unsealed in the Eastern District of Virginia. U.S. authorities say he led a transnational organization that moved tons of cocaine from South America to Europe and generated tens of millions of dollars in proceeds. The DEA has described the group as responsible for large-scale shipments and widespread distribution.
Captured in Bolivia last week after years on the run, Marset had a $2 million U.S. bounty for his alleged role in laundering drug proceeds. According to court documents, the network trafficked cocaine through countries including Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Brazil and across Europe in places such as Belgium, the Netherlands and Portugal.
Prosecutors allege Marset used the proceeds to buy assets and to launder money through investments, including sponsoring and acquiring lower-level professional soccer clubs in Latin America and Europe. Law-enforcement reporting and a 2024 Washington Post profile say he sometimes inserted himself into team lineups and paid cash for privileges; investigators also allege shipments were marked with nicknames and that narcotics were concealed inside commercial cargo such as cookies and soybeans.
Marset previously served a prison term in Uruguay from 2013 to 2018 for drug-related offenses and later lived in several South American countries. Bolivian authorities announced the seizure of roughly $15 million in assets linked to him, including multiple aircraft, residential properties and firearms.
A close associate, Federico Ezequiel Santoro Vassallo, pleaded guilty to money laundering and was sentenced in the United States to 15 years in July. U.S. prosecutors say Santoro — and allegedly Marset — used threats of violence to protect their trafficking and laundering operations.
Bolivian officials say Marset fled his home in Santa Cruz in July 2023 on the eve of a major police operation and remained at large until last week. Bolivia’s president, Rodrigo Paz, publicly thanked international partners for their cooperation in the arrest; his government has sought closer ties with the United States since taking office. Bolivia is one of the world’s largest producers of coca and cocaine.
If convicted of the money-laundering conspiracy charge, Marset faces up to 20 years in prison. His arrest follows other high-profile recent events in the drug-trafficking world, including the death of cartel leader Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho,” in Mexico, who had a $15 million U.S. bounty.