Accused drug lord Sebastián Marset accuses U.S. agents of pressuring his mother over crypto keys

In an extraordinary letter to a federal judge, Sebastián Marset claimed U.S. agents pressured his mother for his digital wallet access keys following an "irregular rendition" from Bolivia, prompting him to fire his American defense team. 

An accused South American drug lord once hunted as one of the region’s most-wanted fugitives has fired his American defense team, alleging in an extraordinary handwritten jailhouse letter to a federal judge that U.S. agents attempted to extort millions of dollars in cryptocurrency from him.

The allegations are contained in new court filings entered Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. The documents show that Sebastián Marset, 34, fired his attorneys in Washington, D.C., and Miami, complaining to the judge that they “refused to report these facts or file motions” to remove the lead prosecutor overseeing his case.

Writing from the federal facility where he is awaiting trial, Marset claimed that two federal agents demanded he provide access to his cryptocurrency wallet, which holds an estimated $4 million. When he refused, Marset said, the agents called his mother on WhatsApp and demanded photos of a notebook containing the wallet’s private cryptographic access keys. 

Marset wrote in the letter addressed to District Judge Rossie D. Alston Jr. that “these messages are preserved and constitute direct written evidence of the extortive conduct.”

The heavily tattooed Uruguayan national, who previously ran narcotics operations in Paraguay, carried a $2 million U.S. government bounty before his capture. He now alleges his rights were systematically violated from the moment he was taken from his home in Bolivia on March 13 at 3 a.m. and immediately handed over to Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents, who flew him to the United States that same day.

Marset told the judge he was extradited through an “irregular rendition that violates international treaties.” He further claimed that upon arriving at Washington’s Dulles International Airport, his requests for a lawyer were ignored and he was subjected to an interrogation. The alleged kingpin added that authorities altered his official statements, recording his denials of guilt as admissions of acceptance.

The abrupt legal shakeup comes at a critical juncture for the prosecution. In court proceedings on April 1, prosecutors hinted at an upcoming superseding indictment that would augment existing charges, which currently only cover alleged money laundering through U.S. banks. While the active indictment refers repeatedly to Marset’s drug trafficking activities, it does not yet formally charge him with narcotics trafficking itself.

A filing on Wednesday lists Washington, D.C., attorney Robert Feitel as Marset’s new counsel. Feitel did not immediately respond to calls for comment. That same day, Marset’s former attorneys—Eugene Rossi of Washington and Michael Padula of Miami—filed a formal request with Judge Alston to be removed from the case. Rossi, Padula, lead prosecutor Anthony Aminoff, and the media office for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia all did not return requests for comment.