Bolivian Police Arrest Sebastian Marset, US-Bound Drug Kingpin

Bolivian police arrested one of South America’s most wanted drug figures, Sebastian Enrique Marset Cabrera, in an early-morning raid in Santa Cruz de la Sierra that mobilised large numbers of officers and specialised units.

“One of the most wanted drug kingpins in South America, Sebastian Enrique Marset Cabrera, has been arrested in Santa Cruz de la Sierra in Bolivia, after a morning raid involving hundreds of police officers”

Al Jazeera

Witness accounts and reporting describe dozens of anti-narcotics police raiding two houses with snipers on nearby rooftops, and an AFP journalist observed hundreds of police involved in the operation in an upscale Santa Cruz neighbourhood.

Al Jazeera

Bolivian and international outlets labelled Marset among the continent’s top traffickers, framing the capture as a major law-enforcement operation against organised crime.

Immediately after the arrest Marset was handed over to U.S. authorities and flown out of Bolivia, with multiple outlets reporting that agents of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration took custody of him at Santa Cruz airport and placed him on a U.S. plane bound for the United States.

Bolivian officials said the transfer followed judicial procedures, with a senior minister stating the arrest and deportation were carried out pursuant to a U.S. court order.

BBC

Reporting indicates close operational cooperation between Bolivian forces and the DEA in the transfer.

Reports across outlets summarise Marset’s alleged criminal network, charges and past convictions: U.S. authorities had placed a US$2 million reward on him, indictments allege he led a large-scale trafficking organisation responsible for moving tonnes of cocaine to Europe, and regional reporting notes prior convictions in Uruguay and movement across South American countries that had outstanding warrants.

“Notorious Latin American narco trafficker Sebastian Marset, who eluded police for years, was handed over to U”

CBS News

Coverage also highlights unusual details about his profile, including how he used football (soccer) team sponsorships to launder proceeds, which international reporting and prosecutors have emphasised.

Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz publicly framed the arrest as a political and policing milestone, saying Marset’s capture 'marks a turning point in the fight against organised crime' and calling the operation a blow to one of the continent’s biggest criminal figures.

Paz's remarks came alongside broader policy shifts: since taking office in November he has signalled closer ties with U.S. anti-narcotics efforts, and his government reinstated relations with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration earlier that year after a longstanding rupture.

EL PAÍS English

Observers and reporting emphasise both the symbolic and operational consequences: outlets note the arrest as a 'milestone' and 'turning point' while detailing the scale of the alleged network and the international legal steps behind the transfer to U.S. custody.

“Cartel boss on US ‘most wanted’ list captured in Bolivia raid Sebastian Enrique Marset Cabrera, who had a US$2 million bounty on his head, was immediately put on a plane to be transferred to the US An alleged cocaine boss with a US$2 million bounty on his head was captured by Bolivian forces as the Andean nation renews cooperation with the US after decades of hostility”

South China Morning Post

At the same time, the pieces underline that Marset had been moving across borders for years and that arrests and extraditions are part of broader multinational investigations and alliances targeting organised crime in the region.

South China Morning Post