Top Mexican cartel figure set to plead guilty in San Diego, nearly 10 years after arrest

Top Mexican cartel figure set to plead guilty

SAN DIEGO — A man once considered a top figure in a notorious Mexican drug cartel plans to plead guilty in a San Diego criminal case, nearly 10 years after he was arrested while watching his son’s soccer game in Tijuana, Mexico.

A federal court docket shows Jesus “Chuy” Labra will change his plea next Thursday. A filing Wednesday does not say on which charges. His attorneys and a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney’s office did not respond to messages Thursday.

Labra was extradited to the United States from Mexico on New Year’s Eve to face drug, racketeering and money laundering charges.

According to his 2003 indictment, he participated in major decisions of the Tijuana-based Arellano Felix cartel and tapped extensive connections with Colombian cocaine traffickers.