Uruguayan fugitive arrives in the United States to face charges of laundering proceeds of his drug-trafficking organization

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - An alleged cocaine trafficker from Uruguay made an initial appearance in federal court in Alexandria today on charges relating to his alleged role in a money laundering conspiracy.

As alleged in court documents, Uruguayan national Sebastian Enrique Marset Cabrera, 34, is the leader of a large-scale drug trafficking organization that distributed thousands of kilograms of cocaine, including as many as 10 tons at a time, from South America typically to Europe. The Marset drug trafficking organization allegedly traffics cocaine in Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Brazil, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, and elsewhere.

Marset's close associate, Federico Ezequiel Santoro Vassallo, aka Capitan, was a Paraguay-based transnational money launderer for drug-trafficking organizations and facilitated the movement of millions of dollars of drug proceeds from various countries in Europe to South America and elsewhere. Santoro and his co-conspirators arranged for the collection of narcotics proceeds and utilized couriers and tokens to covertly deliver bulk illicit currency, typically in euros. Santoro's co-conspirators specialized in placing the illicit currency into the global banking system. He then would direct the movement of the funds internationally, usually via bank wire transfer. Santoro typically directed that the funds be delivered in U.S. dollars and a correspondent bank in the United States would facilitate the transaction.

Santoro and, allegedly, Marset threatened violence to protect their drug-trafficking and money laundering activities.

In January 2021, Marset allegedly was owed more than €17 million from the proceeds of a single shipment of cocaine. Santoro arranged the collection and laundering of at least €5 million of those funds, the vast majority of which was laundered using the U.S. banking system.

Santoro pled guilty on May 21, 2025, and was sentenced on July 23, 2025, to 15 years in prison.

If convicted, Marset faces up to 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anthony T. Aminoff and Catherine Rosenberg are prosecuting the case.

The Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) Special Operations Division Bilateral Investigations Unit investigated this case. Significant assistance was provided by the Justice Department's Office of International Affairs, U.S. Embassy in Bolivia, U.S. Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) and Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), Bolivian Minister of Government, Bolivian National Police National Intelligence Unit, DEA New York Task Force, DEA Airwing, DEA Country Offices in South America including Bogota, Buenos Aires, Asunción, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, and Europol.

In coordination with the Department of Justice, the Department of State's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs announced in May 2025 a reward of up to $2 millionLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. under the Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program (TOCRP) for information leading to Marset's arrest and/or conviction. This was in addition to a $100,000 reward in Bolivia announced in 2023.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District CourtLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACERLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. by searching for Case No. 1:23-cr-143.

An indictment is merely an accusation. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

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