The former leader of a breakaway faction of a fearsome Mexican drug cartel has pleaded guilty to drug and money laundering charges in federal court in McAllen.

Ivan Velazquez Caballero, better known as "el Taliban," pleaded guilty Monday to drug trafficking conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy charges in exchange for recommendations from prosecutors that could result in a shorter sentence. Sentencing is set for July 18.

When Velazquez Caballero, a regional boss for the Zetas cartel, was captured by Mexican Marines in 2012, he was in a dispute with the cartel's leader, Miguel Angel Treviño Morales.

Velazquez Caballero was extradited to the U.S. in November to face the charges from a 2010 superseding indictment. Treviño Morales, arrested in Mexico in July, was also named in that indictment.

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