The U.S. sanctioned two Mexican businesses for allegedly using proceeds of fentanyl trafficking to finance their operations tied to the Sinaloa cartel.

The U.S. Treasury Department has sanctioned a Mexican ice cream shop chain and a local pharmacy used as investments by drug traffickers.

In a significant move to curb the financial activities of the Sinaloa Cartel, the U.S. Treasury Department recently announced sanctions against two Mexican businesses allegedly tied to the cartel’s illegal drug trade.

Some 53 people have been killed and 51 others are missing in Mexico's western Sinaloa state since rival factions of the Sinaloa Cartel began clashing on Sept 9, local authorities said on Friday, with gruesome violence showing no signs of abating.

The most recent deaths come nearly two months after officials arrested Sinaloa Cartel leader Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada in the United States. His arrest reportedly sparked infighting within the Sinaloa Cartel’s two factions: Los Chapitos spearheaded by co-founder Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Loera and La Mayiza led by Zambada.