3 Tijuana drug figures plead guilty in US

SAN DIEGO — Three once-powerful members of Mexico's Arellano Felix drug cartel have pleaded guilty to criminal charges in San Diego.

Jorge Aureliano Felix admitted Wednesday to working with members of the Tijuana-based cartel to smuggle hundreds of tons of cocaine into the United States and bringing hundreds of millions of dollars in proceeds back to Mexico.

The U.S. Attorney's office says Armando Martinez Duarte pleaded guilty Friday. Efrain Perez pleaded guilty Monday.

The defendants were arrested in Mexico between 2002 and 2004 and extradited in late 2008. A 2003 federal indictment calls them "second-level managers" of the cartel.

Last week, Jesus "Chuy" Labra, pleaded guilty in the same case. He was a top cartel leader until his arrest in 2000.

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Oct 21, 2009 - 09:15 p.m. EDT

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