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 throughout 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administration, mentioned late Tuesday on X that the work and tourism visas of members of Los Alegres del Barranco have been revoked.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 pictures, and a bigger nationwide reckoning over the way to deal with the rise of a well-liked musical style criticized for romanticizing drug cartels.
“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, initially hailing from Sinaloa, throughout the live performance. Finger pointing ensued among the many band, live performance producers and the venue.
Oseguera is the chief of the Jalisco New Era Cartel, which has been related to a ranch authorities say was used to coach cartel recruits and presumably get rid of our bodies in Jalisco, the place searchers discovered human bone fragments, heaps of clothes and sneakers.
The Jalisco cartel is amongst different prison teams in Mexico which have been designated as international terrorist organizations by the Trump administration.
Whereas the picture was met by applause throughout 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, a criminal offense which may lead to 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 pictures 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 monetary and criminal sanctions.”
“We know that outrage is not enough,” Lemus mentioned. “Of course it’s possible to ban (the music).”
Since, quite a lot of the band’s future reveals have been cancelled, one city’s authorities saying that the present “didn’t have the municipal permissions needed” 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 “the whole lot 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 accessible 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 world renaissance of Mexican regional music, by mixing basic ballads with entice music. In 2023, Peso Pluma beat Taylor Swift out as essentially the most streamed artist on YouTube.
Lots of the artists now topping the charts have come beneath fierce criticism as a result of their lyrics typically paint cartel leaders as Robin Hood-esque figures. Others say that the style, generally known as “narco corridos”, expresses the tough realities of many youths throughout Mexico.
A variety of 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 loss of life threats from cartels, forcing quite a lot of 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 in opposition to censoring the music, has urged 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 can’t justify violence or criminal groups.”
____
Comply with AP’s protection of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
