Drug trafficking accused's global web wraps SA in its network too

A video of Sebastian Marset previously sparked suspicions about South Africa and Uruguay's most powerful cocaine cartel. Now, the US has stepped in and offered a $2-million reward for his arrest. By Caryn Dolley

- Caryn Dolley

A man wearing big sunglasses and a medical mask faces the camera as he talks in Spanish while seated in what appears to be a stationary car. The footage is somewhat wobbly, suggesting he's holding a cellphone and filming himself.

The man says he is Sebastian Marset (34) — a suspected international drug trafficker and money launderer from Uruguay, who is involved in soccer in South America and has an astounding past that bleeds into high-level political scandals.

Marset, whose full name is Sebastian Enrique Marset Cabrera, is accused of heading the Primer Cartel Uruguayo, or First Uruguayan Cartel.

He was recently added to the US Drug Enforcement Administration's most wanted list, which also offered a reward of up to $2-million for information leading to his arrest. This reward is linked to the biggest investigation into cocaine trafficking in Paraguay's history.

South Africa and suspicions

The video of Marset, in which he distanced himself from a number of accusations, was sent to international media in August 2022, apparently from a South African cellphone number. That same month, Paraguay's public prosecutor in the Office of International Affairs and Foreign Legal Assistance, Manuel Doldan, was quoted in his country's media saying Marset's location was under investigation to determine whether he was in South Africa or whether technology was used to mask where the video was sent from.

Emails from Daily Maverick to an address listed for Doldan were not responded to last week. The Embassy of Uruguay in South Africa said it did not have any comment regarding questions from Daily Maverick.

Daily Maverick also asked the Hawks whether Marset had been flagged in South Africa, but no answer was provided by the time of publication.

In 2023, police in Bolivia tried to arrest Marset, who later released another video in which he, in effect, thanked Bolivian officers for tipping him off about the plan.