Drug Trafficker Sebastián Marset Changes U.S. Lawyers Before Preliminary Hearing

Uruguayan drug lord Sebastián Marset, currently facing charges in the United States, has appointed a new legal team just days before a crucial preliminary hearing. Marset, who was captured in Bolivia in March and subsequently extradited to the U.S. to face charges of drug trafficking and money laundering, has replaced his previous lawyers with Robert Feitel, Sandi S. Rhee, and Joseph Douglas King.

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Serious violations of his fundamental rights occurred from the moment he was deprived of his liberty.

This significant shift in defense strategy comes less than a week before the preliminary hearing, originally scheduled for June 20th but postponed to July 1st at the request of both the prosecution and the defense. Marset's attorney in Uruguay, Santiago Moratorio, confirmed the change and is set to travel to the U.S. to meet with the new legal team and attend the hearing.

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Police forces entered his house without a search warrant or arrest warrant.

From his detention center in Alexandria, Marset has penned a letter to the presiding judge, Rossie Alston Jr., detailing what he claims are "serious violations of his fundamental rights" since his arrest. He alleges that police entered his home on March 13th without a warrant and that his subsequent extradition process lacked formality.

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I was subjected to an interrogation without legal representation, in a direct violation of my rights.

Furthermore, Marset claims that upon his arrival at Dulles Airport on March 14th, his request for legal counsel was ignored. He asserts he was interrogated without representation, a direct violation of his rights. The drug trafficker also alleges that the interrogation summary was falsified, containing statements he never made and omitting explicit denials, which he describes as a fraudulent alteration of an official document. Marset maintains his innocence and expresses his readiness to prove it, stating his sole desire is for adequate legal representation and a fair trial.

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Statements that I never made were recorded, and denials that I explicitly made were recorded as if I had accepted them. This constitutes a fraudulent alteration of an official document.