CHICAGO – A son of notorious Mexican drug kingpin “El Chapo” was set Monday to change his not guilty plea in a U.S. drug trafficking case, months after his brother entered a plea deal.

Joaquin Guzman Lopez had been scheduled to be in court Monday in Chicago for a status hearing, but a court document said the appearance would now be a change-of-plea hearing. The document didn't say whether he would be pleading guilty, and Jeffrey Lichtman, Joaquin Guzman Lopez’s attorney, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Known locally as the “Chapitos,” or “little Chapos,” Joaquin Guzman Lopez and his brother, Ovidio Guzman Lopez, are accused of running a faction of the Sinaloa cartel. Federal authorities in 2023 described the operation as a massive effort to

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