Bolivia Captures Most-Wanted Drug Kingpin Sebastián Marset in Major Raid, Transfers Him to US
Self-styled ‘King of the South’ arrested in Santa Cruz after years on the run, marking landmark victory in regional anti-cartel campaign
LA PAZ, Bolivia — March 13, 2026 — Bolivian authorities have captured one of South America’s most wanted drug traffickers, Uruguayan kingpin Sebastián Marset, in a large-scale police operation in the eastern city of Santa Cruz, officials confirmed on Friday, immediately transferring him to United States custody to face money laundering charges .
The 34-year-old alleged leader of the First Uruguayan Cartel was arrested in an upscale neighbourhood of Bolivia’s economic capital during a dawn raid that mobilised hundreds of police officers, according to an AFP journalist at the scene . Four other individuals were also detained in the operation, which concluded without any injuries or deaths .
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Interior Minister Marco Antonio Oviedo told reporters that Marset was then flown to the United States pursuant to a court order issued by the US justice system . State television footage showed the drug lord being handed to agents of the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) at Santa Cruz airport before boarding an aircraft with US registration .
The DEA did not participate in the arrest itself, which was led exclusively by Bolivian law enforcement, but was involved in the subsequent transfer .
‘A Turning Point’ in Regional Fight
Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz hailed the capture as a historic achievement during a press conference in La Paz, attended by senior cabinet officials.
“One of the drug traffickers and criminals considered among the four biggest on the continent has fallen,” Paz declared. “The capture of Mr Marset marks a turning point in the fight against organised crime, and it also reaffirms the government’s determination to confront international and domestic mafias” .
The arrest represents a significant victory for Paz’s centre-right administration, which took office in November 2024, ending nearly two decades of socialist rule under the Movement for Socialism (MAS) party . The government has signalled a dramatic shift in security policy, restoring operational cooperation with the DEA in late February after a 17-year hiatus that began under former president Evo Morales in 2008 .
The operation also comes just days after Bolivia joined 16 other nations in an anti-cartel military alliance launched by US President Donald Trump, following a weekend meeting between Paz and other Latin American leaders at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida .
The US State Department’s International Narcotics bureau welcomed Marset’s arrest on social media platform X, citing it as proof that “the Shield of the Americas is making our region safer and stronger” .
The Rise and Fall of the ‘King of the South’
Marset, a Uruguayan national, had been on the run since July 2023, when he narrowly escaped a massive police operation in the same Santa Cruz mansion where he was eventually captured . During his years as a fugitive, he cultivated a flamboyant public persona, periodically posting videos mocking authorities and even flying a Uruguayan TV presenter by helicopter to interview him at his hideout .
The DEA considered Marset “one of South America’s most notorious drug traffickers,” with the US State Department offering a $2 million bounty for information leading to his capture or conviction . In May 2024, he was indicted in the United States on money laundering charges, accused of using US-based financial institutions to process millions of dollars in drug trafficking proceeds .
His alleged criminal network, the First Uruguayan Cartel, is accused of shipping cocaine across the world, including massive consignments to European ports. One drug bust in the Belgian port of Antwerp uncovered nearly 16 tonnes of cocaine linked to Marset’s organisation . He allegedly stamped his drug shipments with the audacious label, “The King of the South,” according to a 2024 profile in The Washington Post .
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Marset’s path to becoming one of the continent’s most wanted men began with marijuana trafficking in his native Uruguay. He was imprisoned for drug offences between 2013 and 2018, during which time he allegedly forged connections with Brazil’s powerful Primeiro Comando da Capital (First Capital Command) and Italy’s ‘Ndrangheta mafia .
Upon his release, he moved through South America, establishing operations in Bolivia and later Paraguay, where authorities launched a massive anti-drug trafficking push codenamed Operación A Ultranza PY. The investigation allegedly revealed Marset texting associates for advice on how to dispose of the bodies of murdered enemies .
A Football Obsession and a Flamboyant Fugitive
Marset’s most distinctive characteristic was his passion for football, which he used both as a lifestyle pursuit and a money-laundering mechanism. He laundered millions in drug proceeds by purchasing and sponsoring lower-level professional teams across Latin America and Europe, even inserting himself into starting lineups .
According to The Washington Post profile, Marset paid $10,000 in cash for the privilege of wearing the number 10 jersey—the shirt made famous by football icons Pelé, Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi—during matches. Referees, reportedly fearful of retribution, refused to blow their whistles when he fouled other players .
He gave orders for cocaine to be concealed in shipments of cookies and soybeans, demonstrating sophisticated trafficking methods that moved multi-tonne quantities across continents .
A History of Evasion and Scandal
Marset’s ability to evade capture for years was facilitated by a web of connections and several embarrassing episodes for regional authorities. In 2021, he was briefly detained in Dubai while travelling on a forged Paraguayan passport. Within days, Uruguayan authorities issued him a new passport that allowed him to leave the United Arab Emirates legally, prompting a major scandal that later led to the resignations of several senior Uruguayan officials .
He moved to Bolivia in 2022, using a Brazilian passport and the alias Luis Paulo Amorim Santos, as investigators in multiple countries closed in on him . He was linked by Colombian President Gustavo Petro to the 2022 assassination of Marcelo Pecci, one of Paraguay’s leading anti-crime prosecutors, who was shot dead on a Colombian beach while on his honeymoon. Marset has not been charged in that case .
His brother, Diego Nicolas Marset, was arrested in Brazil in 2023 as one of South America’s most wanted Interpol fugitives, in a joint operation involving agencies from Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay .
International Reactions and Extradition Questions
Paraguayan Interior Minister Enrique Riera told reporters that his country would seek Marset’s extradition to face charges there, while acknowledging that the trafficker would most likely remain in US custody. “The most important thing is that he has been detained,” Riera said .
The arrest follows another major blow against Latin American drug trafficking organisations last month, when Mexican authorities killed Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho,” the leader of the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel, during a capture raid. US intelligence contributed to that operation .
Regional Context and Significance
Bolivia is the world’s third-largest producer of cocaine, which is derived from coca leaves, a crop with deep cultural roots in the Andean nation . The country has long served as both a cocaine producer and a key transit hub for Peruvian cocaine destined for European markets .
Marset’s capture represents a significant shift in Bolivia’s approach to transnational crime. Under previous administrations, cooperation with US anti-narcotics efforts was severely limited. President Paz has made clear his intention to reintegrate Bolivia into regional security frameworks and deepen collaboration with Washington .
President Paz extended thanks to “international organizations from various neighbouring countries and the continent” for their cooperation in the operation that led to Marset’s capture .
What Happens Next
Marset now faces money laundering charges in the United States, where his primary business associate, Federico Ezequiel Santoro Vassallo, was sentenced to 15 years in a US prison in 2025 . Paraguayan officials have indicated they will formally request his extradition to face justice there, though such requests are unlikely to succeed given the priority of US federal charges.
InSight Crime, a foundation dedicated to the study of organised crime, noted that Marset’s role differed from traditional cartel leaders such as Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán. Rather than controlling territory and trafficking routes, Marset operated as a key broker—coordinating logistics, managing relationships between South American producers and European mafias, and processing payments through sophisticated money-laundering networks .
His capture deals a significant blow to the transnational networks that have moved hundreds of tonnes of cocaine from the Andes to European consumers, though analysts caution that such organisations often prove resilient, with new leaders emerging to fill voids left by fallen kingpins.
SOURCES / INPUTS
Al Jazeera: Bolivian authorities capture drug kingpin Sebastian Marset in police raid
KTBS/AFP: Top narco trafficker Marset handed to US after Bolivia arrest
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