Mexican band accused of glorifying cartels changes its tune
The band, Los Alegres del Barranco, is accused of condoning crime over a song praising Nemesio Oseguera, head of the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel in western Mexico.
In April, the United States, which has designated the cartel as a terrorist organization, revoked the band's visas for displaying images of Oseguera during a concert and last month prosecutors in Jalisco state opened a probe into the group.
In a bid to curry favor with the authorities, the band released a new song on YouTube on Sunday titled "El Consejo" (The Advice).
Its lyrics warn that there are only two avenues open to those who become involved in drug trafficking: "the pantheon (of dead traffickers) or prison."
The Jalisco prosecutor's office reacted positively to the new track, which had garnered nearly 80,000 views on Monday, saying that "by spreading a positive message in a song, there is a possibility that the investigation will be suspended."
However, the band remains under investigation for suspected illicit funding, prosecutors said.
Several Mexican states have cracked down on "narcocorridos," a controversial subgenre of regional Mexican folk music that includes shout outs to drug traffickers.
Earlier this month, the popular Los Tucanes de Tijuana band was fined more than $36,000 for performing songs glorifying drug cartels in the northern city of Chihuahua.
Performers of drug ballads have themselves also been targets of gang violence.
In late May, five members of the group Fugitivo were found dead in Tamaulipas state, days after being hired to perform a concert.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
9 hours ago
- France 24
Sean 'Diddy' Combs trial offers fodder for influencers and YouTubers
Every day, it's the same routine: content creators on platforms like TikTok, Instagram and YouTube rub shoulders with legacy media organizations as they set up cell phone tripods and stage their shows, enthusiastically relaying their hot takes. The trial of Combs, once a titan of the music industry who faces life in prison if convicted on sex trafficking and racketeering charges, can't be broadcast. The federal courthouse doesn't allow cameras, laptops, phones or even wireless headphones inside. So, alongside the many journalists covering the trial, influencers hustle in and out of the courthouse throughout the day to recount the proceedings beat by beat, dropping off and picking up their electronics at security each time. One woman who goes by the TikTok name "KealoHalika" said in the first two days of testimony she earned an estimated 10,500 followers; her account now has 40,500 followers. "It was like craziness," she told AFP outside the courthouse. "It's been a lot of moving pieces. It's definitely changed my life." Combs is incarcerated and doesn't enter or exit the courthouse publicly. But some of the high-profile attendees and witnesses do, including members of the music mogul's family and figures like Kid Cudi, the rapper who testified that Combs's entourage torched his car. These paparazzi-esque arrivals and exits are catnip for content creators to in turn feed their followers. The brief cameo of Ye, who stopped by to lend his "support" to Combs amid the proceedings, was a particular field day for the chronically online. Donat Ricketts, a 32-year-old artist from Los Angeles, was a regular at the high-profile Tory Lanez and A$AP Rocky trials in California. He told AFP he makes between $8,000 and $10,000 a month, including through YouTube's ad revenue program and fan donations. "This is my first time traveling to another state to cover a case," said the creator with about 50,000 YouTube subscribers. "It feels like vacation, plus I'm being able to work and make money from YouTube." Ricketts didn't study journalism -- but he thinks his "big personality" and ability to relate to online viewers sets him apart. "This case is the turning point where mainstream media knows that the 'independent journalists' are a force to be reckoned with," he said. 'Personal narrative' According to a 2024 Pew Research Center study, one in five Americans get news from influencers online; for people under 30, the share jumps to 37 percent. Reece Peck, a professor of political communication and journalism at the City University of New York, called the competition among content creators "Darwinian." "They're so scared of losing their clientele or their audience. And so with that logic, that you have to constantly create content, the news cycle is such an attractive source of material," Peck told AFP. And the Combs trial is a fount, he said: "It's sex, it's violence, and it's celebrity." Emilie Hagen said she does have a journalism degree but these days publishes via her Substack, also putting out content on Instagram and TikTok. "I'm there every day providing humorous updates," she told AFP of the Combs trial. Dozens of traditional media outlets are providing coverage and analysis of the trial. But Hagen said she's "able to go down rabbit holes that they're not allowed to go down." "I don't have to stick to the daily recap," she said. "I can insert a personal narrative." Many of her most fruitful videos are of "me interacting with all of the wild people that come to the trial outside the courthouse," she added. Hagen said she's notched 12,000 more Instagram followers and 10,000 more on TikTok since proceedings began. She said some fans have donated, which recently allowed her to hire a linesitter. Getting into the main courtroom, as opposed to overflow rooms with video feeds of the trial, can require either arriving overnight or the day prior, and many influencers along with media outlets like ABC News and The New York Times hire people to hold spots. But even with the deluge of news updates from media outlets and content streams from influencers, some people still want to see the trial for themselves. Val Solit, a teacher from Los Angeles on vacation to New York, dropped by the proceedings after having lunch in nearby Chinatown with her partner. "I like crime and dramas," she told AFP, likening the hype to the 1990s-era trial of O.J. Simpson. "It was kind of fascinating to come and see it." "It's history in the making." © 2025 AFP
France 24
10 hours ago
- France 24
Chapo's ex-lawyer elected Mexican judge
Silvia Delgado, 51, was a member of Guzman's legal team in Ciudad Juarez, where the Sinaloa cartel co-founder was detained before being extradited to the United States in 2017. She was elected a judge in the crime-plagued border city of Ciudad Juarez, results from the June 1 election showed. She received the second-highest vote of the five women who were elected to the bench in northern Chihuahua state, alongside five male judges. Delgado's candidacy was one of the most controversial in the election, which will make Mexico the world's only country to choose all of its judges and magistrates by popular vote. She argued that her defense of Guzman did not make her a criminal. "Every person has the right to counsel," she said, talking up her experience to voters. She was one of around 20 candidates identified by the rights group Defensorxs as "high-risk" for the legitimacy of the judiciary due to allegations of cartel links, corruption and sexual abuse. The Sinaloa cartel was one of six Mexican gangs designated terrorist organizations in February by US President Donald Trump. Mexicans were called on to elect 881 federal judges, including nine members of the Supreme Court, as well as hundreds of local judges and magistrates. An election for the remainder of the judiciary will be held in 2027. Critics have warned that asking citizens to elect judges will erode democratic checks and balances and leave judges more vulnerable to criminal influence.
AFP
a day ago
- AFP
Footage of Philadelphia plane crash misrepresented as 'Israel after Iranian attack'
After Iran responded to strikes on its military and nuclear facilities by firing hundreds of ballistic missiles into Israeli cities, a video was shared in posts falsely claiming it showed the damage inflicted on Tel Aviv. The video in fact shows the aftermath of a medical plane crash in the US city of Philadelphia in February. "Israel's capital Tel Aviv damaged by Iranian attack," reads the Bengali-language caption of a video shared on Facebook on 025. The video shows a carpark littered with debris and flickering embers, with larger fires burning in the background. Image Screenshot of the false Facebook post, captured on June 16, 2025 The video surfaced after Iran struck Israel with barrages of missiles, a day after a massive onslaught against its nuclear and military facilities killed top generals and nuclear scientists (archived link). Israel said its attacks on June 13 aimed to prevent its arch-rival from acquiring atomic weapons -- a charge Tehran denies. The longtime foes have continued trading deadly fire in their most intense confrontation in history, fuelling fears of a drawn-out conflict that could engulf the Middle East (archived link). Iran's health ministry said at least 224 people have been killed and more than 1,200 wounded, while Israel's prime minister's office says at least 24 people have been killed and 592 others injured. The footage was also shared in similar posts elsewhere on Facebook and YouTube. While Israeli cities and towns have been hit by Iranian strikes, the video does not show the damage caused by the attacks. Philadelphia plane crash Image Screenshot comparison of the falsely shared clip (left) and the YouTube video (right) AFP reported that a twin-engine Learjet 55 had plummeted towards a busy Philadelphia neighbourhood, exploding on impact and showering wreckage over homes and vehicles (archived link). The jet was carrying a Mexican child home from a hospital in Philadelphia. Local media reported that all six people on board the plane were killed, as well as a man and a woman who were in separate cars on the ground at the time of the crash (archived link). AFP geolocated the video to Cottman Avenue and the adjacent Roosevelt Mall in Philadelphia (archived link). Google Street View imagery of the area showed a red-bricked building opposite a coffee shop that matches those seen in the circulating video (archived link). Image Screenshot comparison of the falsely shared video (left) and Google Street View imagery (right), with corresponding features highlighted by AFP AFP previously fact-checked false claims the same video depicted an Indian airstrike on Pakistan.
