One of the four sons of notorious Mexican drug kingpin Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán has pleaded guilty to drug trafficking charges in a US court.

Joaquín Guzmán López's guilty plea on Monday comes after US prosecutors pledged last May to not pursue the death penalty against him.

Lopez, 39, is a member of Los Chapitos, a cell made up of El Chapo's children, including his brother Ovidio, who pleaded guilty in July to drug trafficking, firearms and money laundering charges.

Their father, who was one of the founders of the Sinaloa drugs cartel, is serving a life sentence in Colorado.

US prosecutors say the brothers rose to become the leaders of the drug cartel after the arrest of their father.