FILE PHOTO: A newspaper seller arranges newspapers reporting the El Paso, Texas, U.S., arrest of Mexican drug lord Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, "El Chapo" Guzman's son, in Mexico City, Mexico July 26, 2024. REUTERS/Gustavo Graf/File Photo

By Jan Wolfe

WASHINGTON, Dec 1 (Reuters) - A son of imprisoned Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman was set on Monday to change his not guilty plea in a U.S. drug trafficking case, months after his brother pleaded guilty to similar charges.

Joaquin Guzman Lopez had been scheduled to appear in federal court in Chicago for a status hearing, but a court document said the conference would now be a change-of-plea hearing. The court document did not say whether he would be pleading guilty.

Guzman Lopez is one of four sons of El Chapo - known as Los Chapitos, or Little Chapos - who inherited their father's faction of the Sinaloa cartel. Guzman Lopez originally pleaded not guilty after his arrest last year in Texas.

Jeffrey Lichtman, Guzman Lopez’s defense lawyer, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Guzman Lopez faced multiple charges in the U.S. of funneling huge quantities of fentanyl and other drugs to U.S. streets. Fentanyl overdoses have surged to become the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 18 and 45.

Guzman Lopez was detained in July 2024 after landing in a private plane in the El Paso area. He was arrested along with Mexican drug kingpin Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, one of the most consequential traffickers in Mexico's history, who co-founded the Sinaloa Cartel with El Chapo.

Current and former U.S. officials, who sought anonymity to speak candidly about the events, told Reuters at the time that Guzman Lopez had lured Zambada to the U.S., a major coup for U.S. authorities.

Ovidio Guzman Lopez, another son of "El Chapo," pleaded guilty in July to two counts of drug distribution and two counts of participation in a continuing criminal enterprise. He faces a possible life sentence.

El Chapo was extradited to the U.S. in 2017 and is serving a life sentence in a maximum security prison.

(Reporting by Jan Wolfe; Editing by Daniel Wallis)