Ruthless Mexican cartel threatens to kill famous singer, other artists: “This is the last time you will get a warning”

Authorities in Mexico are offering state protection to famed regional Mexican singer Natanael Cano and other artists after a ruthless drug cartel in northern Mexico publicly threatened them, 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 faction of the Sinaloa cartel known as “Chapitos,” which has been wreaking terror in northern Mexico in recent months in a bloody power struggle. Chapitos — which includes the sons of the notorious drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman — they used corkscrews, electric shocks and hot chili torment their rivals while some of their victims were “fed dead or alive to tigers,” according to the indictment published by the US Department of Justice.

The Chapitos accused the singers of “financially assisting” a rival group known as the “Salazares.”

“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.

Cano’s communications team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Corridos, composed of ballads from northern Mexico, are a musical genre long associated with drug violence, but they also depict the harsh reality 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.

In 2023 Peso Pluma – who paid tribute to “El Chapo” with 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.

the same year, violent threats forced the cancellation of a planned concert by the norteño band Grupo Arriesgado in Tijuana.

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.

In November, Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum he promised to launch a campaign to promote other, less violent styles of music that are not like that associated with drug dealers in an effort to stop glorifying them.

The threat against Cano followed an increase in violence in Sinaloa and other northern Mexican states.

The threats to Can followed waves of violence in Sinaloa and other northern Mexican states caused by the kidnapping and capture of drug lords. Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada and consequently all-out war between rival factions of the Sinaloa cartel, including the one that allegedly threatened Cano.

Bodies turned up all over Sinaloa, often left dumped on the streets or in cars sombreros on their heads or pizza slices or boxes attached to them with knives. Pizzas and sombreros have become informal symbols of warring cartel factions, emphasizing the brutality of their warfare.