Jesus Reynaldo Zambada controlled a drug trafficking route via Mexico City's international airport "on behalf of his brother," one of the two top figures in the violent Sinaloa group, the Treasury said in a statement.

Since he was arrested in 2008 in Mexico, Washington has been seeking Jesus Reynaldo Zambada's extradition to the United States.

The sanctions freeze any assets of Zambada held by US entities and makes it illegal for any US entity or citizen to conduct financial or commercial transactions with him.

The Treasury also placed such sanctions on two companies in Mexico linked to the Zambadas, a farm business and a clothing retailer, both located in Culiacan in Sinaloa state.

The Treasury "continues to target Ismael Zambada Garcia and his drug trafficking and money laundering network to cripple their influence and deny them access to the US financial system," said the department's Adam Szubin, head of the Office of Foreign Assets Control.

In January the treasury placed similar sanctions on three other senior figures of the cartel, all lieutenants of its other kingpin, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, who they called "the world's most powerful drug trafficker."