U.S. Law Enforcement and Cartels

Bolivian authorities arrested alleged Uruguayan drug kingpin Sebastian Marset in an upscale neighborhood of Santa Cruz and handed him over Friday to U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents under a U.S. court order and indictment from the Eastern District of Virginia. Marset, 34, had a $2 million U.S. bounty and was on the DEA’s most‑wanted fugitives list, accused of leading a large‑scale trafficking organization that moved “ton quantities” of cocaine from South America to Europe and laundered proceeds through lower‑tier professional soccer clubs where he even played and bought the iconic number 10 jersey. Bolivian officials said hundreds of officers took part in the operation, which comes just weeks after Mexican cartel boss Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes was killed and days after Bolivia joined a 17‑country anti‑cartel military alliance launched by President Trump. U.S. and Paraguayan investigators allege Marset’s network imported more than 16 tons of cocaine into Europe and that intercepted messages show him seeking advice on disposing of murdered rivals’ bodies, underscoring the brutality and reach of his organization. The case highlights intensifying U.S.-backed pressure on transnational cartels amid a regional cocaine boom that fuels U.S. overdose deaths and political tensions over cross‑border crime.