MEXICO CITY (AP) 鈥 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 confirmed to The Associated Press.
Photos of a banner threatening the lives 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 was signed by 鈥淛alisco Matasalas," a group within a faction of the Sinaloa cartel known as the Chapitos, which sowed terror in northern Mexico in . The gang accused the singers of 鈥渇inancially helping鈥 a rival gang known as Salazares.
鈥淭his is the last time you will receive a warning, just in time for you to cut the crap. Mind your own business,鈥 the banner read. 鈥淚f you don't heed this warning, you will be shot.鈥
The Sonoran Prosecutor's Office on Tuesday told the AP that the threatening message was found hanging from a school and that they had opened an investigation.
Allan de la Rosa, a spokesperson for the prosecutors, said authorities offered state protection to the artists to 鈥減revent 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, made up of ballads from northern Mexico, is a musical genre that has but they also depict the harsh realities faced by many Mexicans who live under such violence. The genre, along with Mexican regional music, is experiencing a resurgence with younger artists like Cano and Peso Pluma blending classic styles with other genres like trap music.
Over the past five years, streaming of Mexican music has grown 400% on Spotify and in 2023 Mexican artist bested Taylor Swift as the most streamed artist on YouTube.
Such artists have long faced sharp criticisms from authorities as well as threats from drug gangs.
In 2023, Peso Pluma 鈥 who paid homage to drug kingpin Joaqu铆n 鈥淓l Chapo鈥 Guzm谩n in songs 鈥 was forced to cancel a show in Tijuana after the 25-year-old received threats from a rival of the Sinaloa Cartel, warning that 鈥渋t would be your last performance鈥 if he proceeded with the concert.
Later, Tijuana banned the performance of narco ballads altogether to protect 鈥渢he eyes and ears鈥 of youths as it tries to contain violence. Local authorities in northern states previously banned musicians singing narco-corridos.
The threats against Cano follow a surge of violence in Sinaloa and other northern Mexican states triggered by the and the ensuing all-out-war between rival , including the one that allegedly threatened Cano.
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