Sebastian Marset’s drug trafficking network collapses

The impending extradition of another alleged key player in Sebatian Marset’s money laundering operations marks his latest setback as the drug trafficker’s network appears to be unraveling.

Paraguay, Bolivia and Spain met on August 9 to discuss the extradition of Gianina García Troche, the life partner and alleged business manager of notorious drug trafficker Sebastián Marset, for allegedly laundering millions in drug money. The extradition requests from Paraguay and Bolivia follow her arrest on July 17 at Madrid International Airport, flying in from Dubai.

Marset is an internationally wanted Uruguayan drug trafficker. He was first convicted in 2013 for smuggling marijuana into Uruguay, after which he moved on to cocaine trafficking. He is accused of coordinating shipments of tons of cocaine from Bolivia to Europe. He is also suspected of laundering millions of dollars through fronts ranging from luxury car dealerships to professional soccer teams.

SEE ALSO: Behind the manhunt for Sebastián Marset, founder of the first Uruguayan cartel

In 2022, Interpol issued a red alert for García Troche at the request of Paraguay for her alleged role in Marset’s criminal network. The network is accused of setting up multiple money laundering fronts in Paraguay, which plays a major role in the transport of cocaine to Europe due to its proximity to cocaine-producing countries. It is unclear whether García Troche has turned himself in.

She is wanted in Paraguay as part of Operation A Ultraza Py, the largest and most successful anti-money laundering and cocaine trafficking operation in the country’s history. She is accused of laundering the proceeds of Marset’s international cocaine deals. Bolivia, where García Troche briefly lived with Marset and their children, has also requested her extradition on drug trafficking, criminal involvement and conspiracy charges.

After a narrow escape from authorities in Bolivia in July 2023, the family disappeared from the radar, with most evidence pointing to García Troche and their children moving to Dubai. Marset’s whereabouts are unknown.

What is the alleged role of García Troche?

Marset had millions in drug transactions and was looking for a way to launder money, so he turned to friends and family to set up seemingly legitimate businesses.

One of those companies was Total Cars, a luxury car company that was part of the San Jorge Group SA. The store, based in Asunción, Paraguay, was reportedly opened to launder profits from Marset’s drug trafficking. The Total Cars setup involved a number of people now arrested or wanted under Operation A Ultranza Py, including Alberto Koube Ayala, who is accused of laundering money through several other fronts, such as Tapiracuai SA. Paperwork to create the San Jorge Group was filed in July 2021, with 75% of the shares and the role of chairman going to García Troche, according to court documents.

“She was Marset’s right-hand woman – obviously because of the trust, because of the proximity – and at the same time she acted as a front woman so he could launder money,” Nicolás Centurión, a Uruguayan crime observer and analyst at the Latin American Center for Strategic Analysis (Centro Latinoamericano de Análisis Estratégico – CLAE), told InSight Crime.

SEE ALSO: The networks of Uruguay’s most wanted drug trafficker

García Troche also worked as a “transport agent” and deposited thousands of dollars into her bank account every month. The documentation to justify these transfers turned out to be fake.

According to Marset, all of García Troche’s business activities are legitimate and completely separate from his own shady practices.

“Nobody from my family is involved and I will never involve my family,” he said during an interview with the program Santo y Seña.

Marset’s friends keep falling

García Troche is the latest in a series of arrests of alleged key figures close to Marset, whose international network appears to be unravelling.

After being released from prison in his native Uruguay, Marset moved to Paraguay around 2019 to build his smuggling empire. But he didn’t start from scratch. Instead, he began working with established criminal clans with deep political connections, such as those led by Miguel Ángel Insfrán Galeano, alias “Tío Rico.”

Tío Rico is accused of running the cocaine trafficking and money laundering network with Marset. Messages between Tío Rico and Marset intercepted by Paraguayan authorities detail their criminal alliance, including conversations about killings and how to dispose of bodies. Francisco Luis Correa, who is accused of killing Paraguayan anti-mafia prosecutor Marcelo Pecci, claimed that Tío Rico was one of the people behind the order for Pecci’s murder.

Tío Rico’s brother, José Alberto Insfrán Galeano, is the founder of a megachurch Revival Center (Center of Livelihood), where former congressman Juan Carlos Ozorio attended the service. Ozorio would later be arrested, accused of laundering money for the Insfráns as president of the San Cristobal Cooperative. Authorities believe the Centro de Avivamiento was also a money-laundering front for the family. Both Insfráns were arrested in 2023.

SEE ALSO: Paraguayan prosecutors charge senator with ties to transatlantic cocaine trafficking

Federico Santoro Vasallo was also arrested in 2023 and subsequently extradited to the United States on July 11, where he faces money laundering charges. Santoro Vasallo is alleged to have overseen payments for the clan, collecting money when it was due and paying those who were due. He is also accused of advising Marset on the best ways to launder its fortunes.

But Santoro Vasallo’s criminal career extends beyond money laundering. He was previously convicted of human trafficking and is alleged to have organized part of the Iran flight that was held in Argentina, carrying millions in smuggled cigarettes made by the tobacco company of former Paraguayan president Horacio Cartes.

Other members of Marset’s family are accused of participating in his operations and have had run-ins with the law. His brother-in-law, Sebastián Alberti Rossi, was jailed in Uruguay for murder but escaped. On October 26, 2023, he turned himself in to authorities to begin serving his sentence. Alberti Rossi is alleged to have played a role in establishing contacts with cocaine producers in Bolivia.

Marset’s brother, Diego Nicolás Marset Alba, was arrested in Brazil on December 26, 2023. But Brazil rejected Paraguay’s extradition request and released Marset Alba, stating that he is a Brazilian citizen and not wanted for crimes committed in that country.

The loss of so many trusted colleagues has likely depleted Marset’s operations. He never ran a traditional criminal organization. His clan did not control territory or try to expand its numbers with new recruits. Marset was a middleman, using his network to coordinate international shipments. And with his network disintegrating, Marset’s illegal businesses may have been hit hard.

“The evidence tells us that the operational part of what was the drug trafficking, money laundering system, and everything that was the operational scheme, has disappeared,” Carlos Peris, a sociologist at the National University of Asunción, told InSight Crime. “I think that (Marset’s network) has diminished tremendously. It has diminished to the point where there are practically no criminal operations anymore.”

Marset’s many escapes

Marset has managed to escape arrest several times, while his partners have been arrested. But now that the network is falling apart, his luck may be running out.

Since narrowly escaping Bolivian authorities in July 2023, Marset’s whereabouts have been unknown. His support and contacts are thinning, and his time outside prison may be coming to an end. On August 1, Uruguay’s Interior Minister Nicolás Martinelli said that authorities were on his tail. After so much time on the run, Marset has started making mistakes, and his time outside prison is coming to an end, Martinelli claimed.