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Bolivia Arrests Fugitive Narco Boss Sebastián Marset, Hands Him to U.S. Agents

U.S. prosecutors describe a network moving ton-quantities of cocaine to Europe, with profits laundered through lower‑league soccer.

Overview

  • Bolivian police captured Marset at dawn in an upscale Santa Cruz neighborhood in a large operation that mobilized hundreds of officers, and four others were detained.
  • State television showed him transferred to DEA agents at Santa Cruz airport and placed on a U.S. airplane, with a senior minister saying the deportation followed a U.S. court order.
  • An indictment unsealed in the Eastern District of Virginia alleges he leads a trafficking organization that moves tons of cocaine from South America to Europe and generates tens of millions of dollars.
  • Paraguay had said it would seek his extradition, and its interior minister had predicted he would likely end up in U.S. custody.
  • Authorities and prior investigations linked Marset to more than 16 tons of seized cocaine, a $2 million U.S. bounty, and laundering through ownership and sponsorship of lower-tier soccer teams.