Latest news with #drugcartels
CBS News
29 minutes ago
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Popular band fined $36,000 for performing songs glorifying drug cartels in Mexico
Why Trump is pushing military help for Mexico to help fight cartels Why Trump is pushing military help for Mexico Why Trump is pushing military help for Mexico A popular Mexican band has been fined more than $36,000 for performing songs glorifying drug cartels, authorities in the northern city of Chihuahua announced Wednesday. At a Los Tucanes de Tijuana performance on Saturday, nearly a third of their songs were "narcocorridos" glamorizing drug traffickers, according to city official Pedro Oliva. The songs "glorified crime or alluded to the perpetrators of illegal acts," Oliva said in a television interview. Los Tucanes were banned from performing in their home city Tijuana from 2008 to 2023 for alleged shoutouts to two drug traffickers during a concert. Los Tucanes de Tijuana attend The 23rd Annual Latin Grammy Awards at Michelob ULTRA Arena on November 17, 2022 in Las Vegas, The Latin Recording Academy Several states across the country have imposed restrictions on the controversial subgenre of regional music, which is growing rapidly, even beyond Mexico's borders. In April, the ban sparked a riot during a concert after a singer refused to perform some of his most popular songs. Peso Pluma, who blends corridos with rap and hip-hop, was the seventh most-streamed artist in the world in 2024, according to Spotify. President Claudia Sheinbaum has rejected the idea of banning "narcocorridos," preferring to launch a music competition "for peace and against addictions" to counter the influence of drug culture among young people. Two months ago, the United States revoked the visas of the band Los Alegres del Barranco for showing images of a wanted drug lord during a concert. "I'm a firm believer in freedom of expression, but that doesn't mean that expression should be free of consequences," U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said at the time. "The last thing we need is a welcome mat for people who extol criminals and terrorists." At the end of May, members of Grupo Firme canceled a concert in the United States, saying their visas were under "administrative review" by the U..S embassy. Musicians in Mexico sometimes get caught up in cartel violence themselves. Last month, the bodies of five Mexican musicians from the band Grupo Fugitivo, were found in Reynosa along the Texas border. At least nine alleged cartel members were arrested and later drugs and weapons were seized in connection to the murders. In January this year, a small plane was reported to have dropped pamphlets on a northwestern city threatening around 20 music artists and influencers for alleged dealings with a warring faction of the Sinaloa drug cartel. In 2018, armed men kidnapped two members of the musical group "Los Norteños de Río Bravo," whose bodies were later found on the federal highway connecting Reynosa to Río Bravo, Tamaulipas. In 2013, 17 musicians from the group Kombo Kolombia were executed by alleged cartel members in the northeastern state of Nuevo Leon, allegedly because of links to a rival gang.
Malay Mail
3 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Malay Mail
Mexican band Los Tucanes fined US$36,000 for singing songs glorifying drug cartels at Chihuahua concert
MEXICO CITY, June 5 — A popular Mexican band has been fined more than US$36,000 for performing songs glorifying drug cartels, authorities in the northern city of Chihuahua announced Wednesday. At a Los Tucanes de Tijuana performance on Saturday, nearly a third of their songs were 'narcocorridos' glamorising drug traffickers, according to city official Pedro Oliva. The songs 'glorified crime or alluded to the perpetrators of illegal acts,' Oliva said in a television interview. Los Tucanes were banned from performing in their home city Tijuana from 2008 to 2023 for alleged shout outs to two drug traffickers during a concert. Several states across the country have imposed restrictions on the controversial subgenre of regional music, which is growing rapidly, even beyond Mexico's borders. Peso Pluma, who blends corridos with rap and hip-hop, was the seventh most-streamed artist in the world in 2024, according to Spotify. President Claudia Sheinbaum has rejected the idea of banning 'narcocorridos,' preferring to launch a music competition 'for peace and against addictions' to counter the influence of drug culture among young people. Two months ago, the United States revoked the visas of the band Los Alegres del Barranco for showing images of a wanted drug lord during a concert. At the end of May, members of Grupo Firme cancelled a concert in the United States, saying their visas were under 'administrative review' by the US embassy. — AFP
Bloomberg
2 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Democratic Senators Want Bondi to Explain Crime Unit's Closure
A group of Democratic senators asked US Attorney General Pam Bondi to explain the Trump administration's plans to dissolve a unit within the Department of Justice that combats transnational organized crime networks and drug cartels. Last month, Bloomberg News first reported that the DOJ abruptly decided to close down the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, known as OCDETF, by 'zeroing out' its fiscal year 2026 budget. A reason wasn't specified and it was unclear who made the decision.
Al Bawaba
4 days ago
- Health
- Al Bawaba
Deadly fire at Mexican drug rehab center claims 12 lives
Published June 1st, 2025 - 09:10 GMT ALBAWABA - A tragic fire erupted at a drug rehabilitation center in central Mexico on Sunday, killing 12 individuals and injuring three others, according to the Guanajuato State Prosecutor's Office. Also Read Video: 2 killed as Mexican Navy training ship hits Brooklyn Bridge Authorities are still investigating the cause of the blaze, which broke out in a facility located in one of Mexico's most violence-stricken regions. Organized crime groups, particularly drug cartels, have previously been linked to attacks on such centers, often targeting them to forcibly recruit recovering addicts. In an official statement, the prosecutor's office confirmed that forensic teams are collecting evidence and conducting witness interviews to determine the exact cause of the incident. This is not the first violent episode involving rehab centers in Mexico. In April, armed assailants attacked a rehabilitation clinic in Sinaloa state, killing at least nine people. Officials suspect that drug cartels have increasingly resorted to eliminating or coercing patients who refuse to join their ranks. 🇲🇽 Mexicali | Fuga de internos tras operativo fallido en centro de rehabilitación🚨 Fiscalía General del Estado y COEPRIS no logran controlar la situación, decenas de internos huyen durante operativo.¡Preocupación por la seguridad en la zona! 📰 #SeguridadMexicali — El Blog del Narco (@narcoblogger) January 26, 2025 Mexico has faced a wave of cartel-related violence since 2006. Government data indicates that nearly 480,000 people have been killed in criminal incidents since then, and around 120,000 remain missing, underscoring the deep crisis plaguing the country's security landscape. © 2000 - 2025 Al Bawaba (
The Independent
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Independent
All five members of missing Mexican band found dead near Texas border
The bodies of five musicians from the Mexican regional band Grupo Fugitivo have been discovered in Reynosa, a northern city along the Texas border, authorities announced on Thursday. The band, known for playing at local parties and dances, had been missing since Sunday. According to Tamaulipas state prosecutors, the musicians were kidnapped around 10 pm while en route to a performance venue in an SUV. The discovery of their bodies on the outskirts of Reynosa has led to the arrest of nine suspects, believed to be members of a faction of the Gulf Cartel, which maintains a strong presence in the city. While authorities have not yet disclosed the motive behind the killings, they have not denied local media reports suggesting the bodies were burned. Grupo Fugitivo performed Mexican regional music, a genre that includes styles like corridos and cumbia. Young artists sometimes pay homage to leaders of drug cartels, often portrayed as Robin Hood-type figures. It was not immediately clear if the group played such songs or if the artists were simply victims of rampant cartel violence that has eclipsed the city. But other artists have faced death threats by cartels, while others have had their visas stripped by the United States under accusations by the Trump administration that they were glorifying criminal violence. The last time the musicians were heard from was the night they were kidnapped, when they told family members they were on the way to the event. After that, nothing else was heard of them. Their disappearance caused an uproar in Tamaulipas, a state long eclipsed by cartel warfare. Their families reported the disappearances, called on the public for support and people took to the streets in protest. On Wednesday, protesters blocked the international bridge connecting Reynosa and Pharr, Texas, later going to a local cathedral to pray and make offerings to the disappeared. Reynosa is a Mexican border city adjacent to the United States and has been plagued by escalating violence since 2017 due to internal disputes among groups vying for control of drug trafficking, human smuggling and fuel theft. This case follows another that occurred in 2018, when armed men kidnapped two members of the musical group 'Los Norteños de Río Bravo,' whose bodies were later found on the federal highway connecting Reynosa to Río Bravo, Tamaulipas.
