American revokes the visas of the Mexican group after the projection of the cartel at the concert

By Megan Janetsky, Associated Press

Mexico City (AP) – The US State Department revoked the visas for members of a Mexican group after thrown the face of a drug boss on a large screen during a representation in the Western state of Jalisco this weekend.

US Secretary of State, who was an American ambassador to Mexico at the first Trump administration, was late on X that the work and tourism visas of Los Alegres del Barranco had been dismissed.

Visas revocations follow the widespread indignation in Mexico about the concert while prosecutors in two states have launched surveys on projected images, and a larger national account on how to fight against a popular musical genre criticized for romanticizing drug cartels.

“I firmly believe in freedom of expression, but that does not mean that the expression should be free of consequences,” wrote Landau on X. “The last thing we need is a welcome carpet for people who praise criminals and terrorists.”

The controversy broke out during the weekend when Nemesio Rubén’s face “El Mencho” dares to layer on flames was thrown behind the group, originally from Sinaloa during the concert. The finger pointing among the group, the concert producers and the place.

Oseguera is the head of the cartel of the new generation of Jalisco, who was linked to a ranch, according to the authorities, was used to form recruits from the cartel and possibly eliminate bodies in Jalisco, where researchers found fragments of human bones, heaps of clothes and shoes.

The Jalisco cartel is among other criminal groups in Mexico who have been appointed as foreign terrorist organizations by the Trump administration.

While the image was greeted by applause during the concert, Jalisco prosecutors quickly announced that they convened the group to testify in an investigation to find out if they were promoting violence, a crime that could lead to a sentence of up to six months in prison. The state of Michoacan also announced an investigation into the Los Alegres del Barranco for having projected the same images during a concert in the city of Uruapan.

Jalisco Governor Pablo Lemus said the state would prohibit musical performance that glorifies violence, adding that offenders “would face monetary and criminal sanctions”.

“We know that indignation is not enough,” said Lemus. “Of course, it is possible to ban (music).”

Since then, a number of future groups of the group have been canceled, the government of a city saying that the program “did not have the necessary municipal authorizations” to perform the performance.

Pavel Moreno, the group accordion player and a rescue singer, did not answer the fans’ questions asking if his visa had been dismissed, thanking them simply for support and saying that “everything is fine”.

The group was to play in Tulsa, Oklahoma, April 4. Although the event has not been canceled publicly, the ticket sales websites read: “No tickets available for the moment on our site” for this date.

The dispute coincides with a more important cultural debate in Mexico while artists like Peso Pluma, Fuerza Regida and Natanael Cano inaugurate a world renaissance of Mexican regional music, by mixing classic ballads with trap music. In 2023, Peso Pluma beat Taylor Swift as a most broadcast artist on YouTube.

Many artists at the top of the graphics have been criticized with ferocious criticism because their words often paint the leaders of the cartel as figures of Robin Hood. Others say that the genre, known as “Narco Corridos”, expresses the harsh realities of many young people across Mexico.

A certain number of Mexican states have prohibited public music performance in recent years, the most recent being the state of Nayarit in February. Some of the prohibitions came when famous artists have received death threats from the cartels, forcing a number of them to cancel their performance.

Others, including the president of Mexico Claudia Sheinbaum, sought a less aggressive approach to address the genre. Sheinbaum, who opposed the censorship of music, rather suggested that the Mexican government has advanced initiatives that promote Mexican regional music with more socially acceptable words.

The Mexican leader hardened his language on the subject after the Los Alegres del Barranco concert. In his morning briefing this week, Sheinbaum demanded an investigation into the concert, saying: “You cannot justify violence or criminal groups.”

Originally published: April 2, 2025 at 2:03 p.m.