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

Authorities in Mexico are offering state protection to popular 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.

Pictures of a banner threatening the life of Cano, a singer of corridos, 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 banner appeared to be signed by “Jalisco Matasalas”, a group in a faction of the Sinaloa cartel known as “Chapitos”, which has sown terror in northern Mexico in recent months in a bloody struggle of power The Chapitos – which include the children of the notorious drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman – they used corkscrews, electrocution and hot chiles for they torture their rivals while some of his victims were “fed dead or alive to the tigers,” according to an indictment released by the United States Department of Justice.

The Chapitos accuse the singers of “financially helping” a rival gang known as the “Salazares.”

“This is the last time you’ll get a warning, just in time for you to cut the crap. 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 message was found hanging from a school and that they had opened an investigation.

Allan de la Rosa, a spokesman for the prosecutors, said that the authorities are offering state protection to the artists to “prevent any aggression related to the direct threat displayed 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, consisting of ballads from northern Mexico, is a musical genre that has long been linked to drug violence, but they also represent the harsh realities that many Mexicans face living under narco violence. The genre, along with regional Mexican music, is experiencing a resurgence with younger artists such as Cano and Peso Pluma mixing classical styles with other genres such as trap music.

In the last five years, the streaming of Mexican music has grown by 400% on Spotify and in 2023 the Mexican artist Peso Pluma beat 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, Feather feather – who paid tribute to “El Chapo” in songs – was forced to cancel a show in Tijuana after the 25-year-old received threats from a rival of the Sinaloa Cartel, warning that “it would be your last performance ” if he proceeds. with the concert.

That same year, violent threats forced the cancellation of a concert planned by the northern group Grupo Arriesgado in Tijuana.

Later, Tijuana banned the performance of narco ballads to protect the “eyes and ears” of young people as it tries to contain the violence. Local authorities in northern states have banned musicians who sing narcocorridos.

In November, Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum he promised to launch a campaign to promote other less violent musical styles that are not like this linked to drug traffickers in an effort to stop glorifying them.

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

The threats against Cano follow an increase in violence in Sinaloa and other northern Mexican states triggered by the kidnapping and capture of the drug lord. Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada and the result total war between rival factions of the Sinaloa Cartel, including the one that allegedly threatened Cano.

Bodies have appeared in Sinaloa, often left strewn on the streets or in cars with one or the other hats on his head or pizza slices or boxes stuck on them with knives. Pizzas and sombreros have become informal symbols for warring cartel factions, underscoring the brutality of their war.