Sekouba Konate, a former Guinean president and serving African Union general, has pleaded guilty to smuggling money into the US.
The 51-year-old tried to sneak in more than $64,000 (£42,400) after arriving on a flight from Ethiopia in 2013.
The US Justice Department said he faces a maximum penalty of five years in jail when he is sentenced next February.
Known as "El Tigre" for his military prowess, he was in the junta which took power in December 2008.
Gen Konate handed over power after Guinea held its first democratic elections in 50 years in June 2010.
Afterwards he was appointed as the general commander of the security forces of the African Union, US court papers said.
Cash 'hidden in luggage'
According to the Associated Press agency, Gen Konate, who had been due to go on trial on Tuesday, has family in North Carolina and owns property in the state.
He testified at a pre-trial hearing that he did not understand the customs process because of language barriers, the agency reports.
Prosecutors said he claimed to be carrying $10,000 or less when he arrived at Washington Dulles International Airport in June 2013.
He did not declare the other cash he was carrying, much of which was hidden in his luggage.
As part of his plea agreement, the parties agreed that $61,770 was properly seized and that $3,000 would be given back to the general as "humanitarian aid", Reuters news agency reports.
Gen Konate served as an interim president in Guinea for about a year having taken over leadership of the junta after coup leader Captain Moussa Dadis Camara was shot and injured in 2009.
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