MEXICO CITY – Following a performance in Jalisco over the weekend where members of a Mexican band projected the image of a drug cartel boss onto a large screen, the U.S. State Department has taken action by revoking their visas.
Christopher Landau, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State and former U.S. ambassador to Mexico, announced on X late Tuesday that the work and tourism visas of Los Alegres del Barranco members were cancelled.
This move comes in response to the outrage in Mexico sparked by the concert, leading to investigations by prosecutors in two states regarding the projected images. There is also a broader national conversation on how to address the romanticization of drug cartels in a popular music genre.
“I’m a firm believer in freedom of expression, but that doesn’t mean that expression should be free of consequences,” Landau wrote on X. “The last thing we need is a welcome mat for people who extol criminals and terrorists.”
The controversy broke out over the weekend when the face of Nemesio Rubén “El Mencho” Oseguera layered over flames was projected behind the band, originally hailing from Sinaloa, during the concert. Finger pointing ensued among the band, concert producers and the venue.
Oseguera is the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, which has been connected to a ranch authorities say was used to train cartel recruits and possibly dispose of bodies in Jalisco, where searchers found human bone fragments, heaps of clothing and shoes.
The Jalisco cartel is among other criminal groups in Mexico that have been designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the Trump administration.
While the image was met by applause during the concert, Jalisco prosecutors quickly announced they were summoning the band to testify in an investigation into whether they were promoting violence, a crime which could result in a penalty of up to six months in prison. The state of Michoacan also announced an investigation into the Los Alegres del Barranco for projecting the same images during a concert in the city of Uruapan.
Jalisco Gov. Pablo Lemus said that the state would ban musical performances that glorify violence, adding that violators would “face monetary and criminal sanctions.”
“We know that outrage is not enough,” Lemus said. “Of course it’s possible to ban (the music).”
Since, a number of the band’s future shows have been cancelled, one town’s government saying that the show “didn’t have the municipal permissions needed” to carry out the performance.
The dispute coincides with a larger cultural debate in Mexico as artists like Peso Pluma, Fuerza Regida and Natanael Cano usher in a global renaissance of Mexican regional music, by mixing classic ballads with trap music. In 2023, Peso Pluma beat Taylor Swift out as the most streamed artist on YouTube.
Many of the artists now topping the charts have come under fierce criticism because their lyrics often paint cartel leaders as Robin Hood-esque figures. Others say that the genre, known as “narco corridos”, expresses the harsh realities of many youths across Mexico.
A number of Mexican states have banned public performances of the music in recent years, the most recent being the state of Nayarit in February. Some of the bans have come as famed artists have received death threats from cartels, forcing a number of them to cancel their performances.
Others, including Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum, have sought a less aggressive approach to addressing the genre. Sheinbaum, who has come out against censoring the music, has suggested instead that the Mexican government push forward initiatives that promote Mexican regional music with more socially acceptable lyrics.
The Mexican leader did harden her language on the topic following the Los Alegres del Barranco concert. In her morning news briefing this week, Sheinbaum demanded an investigation into the concert, saying: “You can’t justify violence or criminal groups.”
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