MEXICO CITY (AP) — The U.S. State Division revoked the visas of members of a Mexican band after they projected the face of a drug cartel boss onto a big display throughout a efficiency within the western state of Jalisco over the weekend.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, who was U.S. ambassador to Mexico through the first Trump administration, mentioned late Tuesday on X that the work and tourism visas of members of Los Alegres del Barranco have been revoked.
The visa revocations observe widespread outrage in Mexico over the live performance as prosecutors in two states have launched investigations into the projected photographs, and a bigger nationwide reckoning over easy methods to handle the rise of a preferred musical style criticized for romanticizing drug cartels.
“I’m a agency believer in freedom of expression, however that doesn’t imply that expression ought to be freed from penalties,” Landau wrote on X. “The very last thing we’d like is a welcome mat for individuals 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, initially hailing from Sinaloa, through the live performance. Finger pointing ensued among the many band, live performance producers and the venue.
Oseguera is the chief of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, which has been linked to a ranch authorities say was used to coach cartel recruits and presumably eliminate our bodies in Jalisco, the place searchers discovered human bone fragments, heaps of clothes and sneakers.
The Jalisco cartel is amongst different legal teams in Mexico that have been designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the Trump administration.
Whereas the picture was met by applause through the live performance, Jalisco prosecutors shortly introduced they have been summoning the band to testify in an investigation into whether or not they have been selling violence, against the law which might end in a penalty of as much as six months in jail. The state of Michoacan additionally introduced an investigation into the Los Alegres del Barranco for projecting the identical photographs throughout a live performance within the metropolis of Uruapan.
Jalisco Gov. Pablo Lemus mentioned that the state would ban musical performances that glorify violence, including that violators would “face financial and legal sanctions.”
“We all know that outrage isn’t sufficient,” Lemus mentioned. “In fact it’s potential to ban (the music).”
Since, quite a few the band’s future exhibits have been cancelled, one city’s authorities saying that the present “did not have the municipal permissions wanted” to hold out the efficiency.
Pavel Moreno, the band’s accordion participant and back-up singer, did not reply to questions by followers asking if his visa had been revoked, merely thanking them for help and saying that “every thing is okay.”
The band was scheduled to play in Tulsa, Oklahoma on April 4. Whereas the occasion hasn’t been publicly cancelled, ticket gross sales web sites learn: “No tickets out there for now on our web site” for that date.
The dispute coincides with a bigger 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 basic ballads with lure music. In 2023, Peso Pluma beat Taylor Swift out as probably the most streamed artist on YouTube.
Most of the artists now topping the charts have come beneath fierce criticism as a result of their lyrics usually paint cartel leaders as Robin Hood-esque figures. Others say that the style, referred to as “narco corridos”, expresses the cruel realities of many youths throughout Mexico.
Various Mexican states have banned public performances of the music in recent times, the newest being the state of Nayarit in February. A number of the bans have come as famed artists have obtained demise threats from cartels, forcing quite a few them to cancel their performances.
Others, together with Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum, have sought a much less aggressive method to addressing the style. Sheinbaum, who has come out towards censoring the music, has prompt as an alternative that the Mexican authorities push ahead initiatives that promote Mexican regional music with extra socially acceptable lyrics.
The Mexican chief did harden her language on the subject following the Los Alegres del Barranco live performance. In her morning information briefing this week, Sheinbaum demanded an investigation into the live performance, saying: “You’ll be able to’t justify violence or legal teams.”
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Comply with AP’s protection of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
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