Authorities in Mexico are offering state protection to popular Mexican regional singer Natanael Cano and other artists after a ruthless drug cartel in northern Mexico publicly threatened them, prosecutors confirmed. The Associated Press on Tuesday.
Photos of a flag threatening the life of Cano, a corridos singer, a musical genre often linked to drug cartel violence, and several other artists in the Sonora region circulated on social media over the weekend.
The flag appeared to be signed by “Jalisco Matasalas”, a group within a group of the Sinaloa cartel known as the “Chapitos”, which terrorized northern Mexico in recent months in a power struggle bloody The Chapitos – which includes the sons of the notorious drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman — used corkscrews, electrocution and hot chiles to torture their rivals while some of their victims were “fed dead or alive to tigers,” according to a lawsuit released by the US Department of Justice.
The Chapitos accused the singers of “financially assisting” a rival gang known as the “Salazares”.
“This is the last time you get a warning, just in time to cut the guts. Mind your own business,” read the banner. “If you do not heed this warning, you will be fired.
Ismael Rosas/Eyepix Group/LightRocket via Getty Images
The Sonoran District Attorney's Office told the AP on Tuesday that the threatening message was found hanging from a school and that they had opened an investigation.
Allan de la Rosa, spokesman for the prosecution, said that the state protection authorities gave the artists “to prevent any attack related to the direct threat presented on the flag.” He did not elaborate on the nature of the defense.
Cano's communications team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Corridos are a genre of music, made up of towns from the north of Mexico, that have long been linked to drug violence, but they also reflect the harsh realities they face. Many Mexicans live under narco violence. The genre, along with Mexican regional music, is experiencing a renaissance with younger artists like Cano and Peso Pluma mixing 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 beat Taylor Swift as the most streamed artist on YouTube.
Such artists have long faced harsh criticism from authorities and threats from drug gangs.
In 2023, Featherweight – who paid tribute to “El Chapo” in song – was forced to cancel a show in Tijuana after the 25-year-old received threats from a rival Sinaloa Cartel, warning that “the show is about it would be the end of you” if he continued. with the concert.
That same year, violent threats they canceled a planned concert by the norteño band Grupo Arriesgado in Tijuana.
Later, Tijuana completely banned the performance of narco songs to protect the “eyes and ears” of youth while trying to contain the violence. Local authorities in northern states had previously banned musicians singing narcocorridos.
In November, Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum they vowed to launch a campaign to promote other, less violent styles of music linked to drug traffickers in an effort to stop the glorification.
The threat against Cano follows an increase in violence in Sinaloa and other states in northern Mexico.
The threats against Cano follow an increase in violence in Sinaloa and other states in northern Mexico caused by the kidnapping and capture of a narco leader. Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada and after war between rival factions of the Sinaloa Cartel, including the one who allegedly threatened Cano.
Gangs have popped up all over Sinaloa, often left out on the streets or in cars with either hats on their heads or pizza slices or boxes wrapped with knives. The pizzas and sombreros have become informal symbols for the warring cartel groups, reinforcing the brutality of their war.
