- Authorities in Mexico are offering state protection to famed regional Mexican singer Natanael Cano and other artists after a drug cartel in northern Mexico publicly threatened them, prosecutors said.
- A social media post that appeared to be from the “Jalisco Matasalas,” a group within the Sinaloa cartel, accused the singers of “financially assisting” a rival gang known as the “Salazares.”
- Cano is a corridos singer. Corridos and other traditional Mexican genres are experiencing a resurgence in popularity.
Authorities in Mexico offer state protection to famed regional Mexican singer Natanael Cano and other artists after drug cartels in northern Mexico publicly threatened, prosecutors confirmed to The Associated Press on Tuesday.
Photos of a banner threatening the lives of Cano, a singer of corridos, a musical genre often associated with drug cartel violence, and several other artists in the Sonora region circulated on social media over the weekend.
The banner appears to be signed by the “Jalisco Matasalas,” a group within the Sinaloa cartel faction known as “Chapitos,” which has been wreaking terror in northern Mexico in recent months in a bloody power struggle. The gang accused the singers of “financially assisting” a rival group known as “Salazares”.
WE WANT TO REMOVE THE NOTOROUS DRUG CARTEL LEADER
“This is the last time you’ll get a warning, just in time to stop shitting. Mind your own business,” the banner read. “If you do not heed this warning, you will be shot.”
The Sonoran district attorney’s office told the AP on Tuesday that the threatening note was found hanging at the school and that they have opened an investigation.
Allan de la Rosa, a spokesman for prosecutors, said authorities offered state protection to the artists to “prevent any aggression related to the direct threat depicted on the banner.” He did not elaborate on the nature of the protection.
Mexican singer Natanael Cano performs at the Arre Music Festival in Mexico City on September 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano, File)
Cano’s communications team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Corridos, composed of ballads from northern Mexicois a musical genre that has long been associated with drug violence, but they also depict the harsh reality that many Mexicans face living under drug violence. The genre, along with Mexican regional music, is experiencing a revival with younger artists such as Cano and Peso Pluma fusing classical styles with other genres such as trap music.
Over the past five years, Mexican music streaming has grown 400% on Spotify, and in 2023, Mexican artist Peso Pluma surpassed Taylor Swift as the most streamed artist on YouTube.
Such artists have long faced harsh criticism from the authorities and threats from drug gangs.
2023 Peso Pluma — who paid tribute drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán in songs – was forced to cancel a show in Tijuana after the 25-year-old received threats from rivals of the Sinaloa cartel, warning him that “it will be your last show” if he went ahead with the concert.
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Later, Tijuana completely banned the performance of drug ballads to protect the “eyes and ears” of the youth as it tries to curb the violence. Local authorities in northern states have previously banned musicians who sing narcocorridos.
The threat against Cano followed an increase in violence in Sinaloa and other northern Mexican states,
The threats against Cano followed waves of violence in Sinaloa and other northern Mexican states sparked by the kidnapping and capture of drug lord Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada and the ensuing all-out war between rival factions of the Sinaloa cartel, including the one that allegedly threatened Cano.
