““We look like a banana republic.”The former president complained José Mujica. Calmness of political life UruguayEpisodes of controlled intimacy between the parties were disrupted by an interconnected scandal a powerful regional drug trafficker who pretended to be football player First line of presidential government Luis Lacalle Pou. Sebastian Marset He is 32 years old. He is affiliated not only with the so-called First Uruguayan Cartel (PCU), but also Murder of Paraguayan prosecutor Marcelo PecciMarset, which was committed in Colombian territory in May 2022, was arrested in Dubai a year ago while trying to go to Turkey with fake documents. His lawyer, Alejandro Balbi, requested that his Uruguayan passport be processed in Montevideo. That was the key that let the criminal go Arap emirates and remained on the run for two years until he was found months ago in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. The police of that country organized a massive operation to catch him, but he visibly disappeared before their eyes.
The adventures of drug traffickers shock the Lacalle Pou Administration. Capital weekly To call He explained that the passport was given to him personally by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Marset case then began to escalate. First, it caused the resignation of that portfolio head, Francisco Bustilloand Undersecretary Carolina Ache. Over the weekend, Interior Minister Luis Alberto Heber, his right-hand man Undersecretary Guillermo Maciel, and presidential advisor Roberto Lafluf were forced to resign for advising Ache to delete Marset-related conversations on his phone.
Lacalle Pou”sincere belief“The officials who resigned in the department that benefits drug traffickers “have no legal responsibility.” He added that the passport had to be issued “yes or yes” because the law determined it that way. “There was no other responsibility.” Whether it was drug trafficking or something else, there is a chance according to the regulations,” he explained last Saturday, when he hurried back from the United States. Broad Front (FA)The centre-left opposition coalition thinks otherwise. “There is a huge inconsistency between accepting resignations and saying ‘nothing happened here,’” said Senator Alejandro Pacha Sánchez. The FA is pressing for the House of Representatives to decide within the next few hours. “We cannot allow drug trafficking to enter politics”” said legislator and union leader Fernando Pereira. The PIT-CNT labor union called for “a massive mass action to defend democracy and against corruption.”
“Stupid” and “abnormal”
When the first outbursts of the scandal were heard, the authorities assured that they did not know who this Marset man was. But then the portal Daily Deputy Minister Maciel told Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Ache that this was a “Very dangerous and intense drug traffic”. According to a published audio recording, then-Chancellor Bustillo suggested his subordinate “lose” his mobile phone. To call. The crisis became unstoppable and confronted the government team. Bustillo also called Maciel “stupid” and “abnormal” for revealing the explosive messages. “I acted honestly and responsibly,” the outgoing deputy minister defended.
The Marset case reached the court. Prosecutor Aejandro Machado questioned his lawyer, Balbi, on the grounds that he had processed the drug trafficker’s passport in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Civilian Identity Directorate. Everything looks the same “bad Venezuelan comedy“Balbi said this after the Foreign Affairs and Home Affairs officials assured him that he did not know what he was talking about.
Narcotic and football player
On the scandalous screen, Marset’s figure was finally projected in its most surprising dimension. His face was football. first in Capiatá, a team participating in the Paraguayan major leagueWhere he posed as Luis Amorim. When his fake identity was revealed, he fled to Bolivia, where he played for Los Leones under the name Gabriel De Souza Beumer.
fake player He lived the life of a sultan in Santa Cruz. He arrived at the training with state-of-the-art equipment and accompanied by jealous bodyguards. Last July, Marset managed to escape a siege on his Santa Cruz estate. The police found 17 rifles, a pistol, nearly 2 thousand ammunition, bulletproof vests and 31 vehicles. “We will manage to arrest him in the next few hours,” said the Bolivian Government Minister. They’re still looking for him.