The last narco heir of Pablo Escobar has been captured: the entire global cocaine market could have repercussions.

The escape of the most wanted man in South America has come to an end. Sebastián Enrique Marset Cabrera, 34 years old, alleged head of the so-called “First Uruguayan Cartel” and a prominent figure in international drug trafficking, was apprehended during a raid in the residential neighborhood of Las Palmas.

The operation, carried out by the Fuerza Especial de Lucha contra el Narcotráfico (FELCN), began in the early hours of the morning. A cordon of patrol cars with flashing lights and the use of jammers to inhibit communications preceded the raid on the apartment where he was hiding, bringing an end to a three-year-long fugitive status.

¡POR FIN! ¡CAYÓ MARSET EN BOLIVIA!
Después de años de persecución internacional, rumores, operativos fallidos y una fuga que dejó en ridículo a varias agencias de seguridad del continente, el narcotraficante uruguayo Sebastián Enrique Marset Cabrera finalmente habría sido… pic.twitter.com/Vnc5ou8pwC

— Cronicas del Este (@CronicasDelEste) March 13, 2026

Just a week ago, on March 6, the Bolivian Ministry of Government claimed that “there was no official confirmation” of his presence in the country. Now, according to reports from local and international press, the “ghost” has already been handed over to DEA agents at the Viru Viru International Airport and boarded on a flight to the United States.

Listed by the DEA as one of the “most wanted” since May 2025, Marset had a 2 million dollar bounty on his head offered by the U.S. State Department. Since his first arrest in 2013, his criminal profile has grown exponentially, making him a true “manager” of organized crime.

According to investigators, a transnational logistical network orchestrated by the fugitive managed cocaine shipments from the Bolivian valleys to European ports, exploiting complex routes through Paraguay, Brazil, and, in some cases, West Africa.

If the transfer to the United States is formalized, he will face federal jurisdiction, with likely charges ranging from international drug trafficking to criminal conspiracy, and money laundering.

The name of Marset is also linked to one of the most high-profile murders in recent years in the region. Authorities in Colombia and Paraguay identify him as the alleged mastermind or part of the "decision-making ring" behind the assassination of Paraguayan anti-mafia prosecutor Marcelo Pecci, who was killed on May 10, 2022 on the beach of Barú, Colombia.

The capture could open decisive investigative avenues to reconstruct the chain of command of the crime and reactivate the joint teams connected to the large-scale anti-drug and anti-money laundering operation “A Ultranza Py”.

The arrest, at the same time, raises serious questions about Bolivian institutions. During his flight, Marset had turned his clandestinity into public provocation, even playing in amateur cruceño soccer fields under a false identity, in a daring strategy of camouflage.

In 2023, shortly before a dramatic escape, he released a video accusing a senior official of FELCN of warning him about the imminent arrest warrant. Subsequent investigations uncovered a dense network of complicity, including proceedings against former officials of Segip, accused of having provided him with document facilitation.

The capture now allows the government to claim a renewed operational protagonism, but it reignites the spotlight on institutional failures and gray areas that allowed him to thrive with impunity.

The elimination of such a central coordinator is destined to produce shocks in the global drug market. In the short term, analysts predict friction along the supply chain, delays in shipments, and an increase in logistical and security costs, with spaces that could be filled by competing Brazilian and Paraguayan groups.

On the geopolitical level, the event could favor a new phase of operational cooperation among the involved South American countries. A complex judicial path now opens: extraditions, international cooperation, and requests for assistance among the United States, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay will need to intersect to define the fate of what many consider the most dangerous drug trafficker in the region.