19-05-2025
Mexican band's bizarre excuse after Trump banned them from US for honoring drug lords during concert
A member of Mexican band barred from performing in the US after blaring images of cartel leaders at a concert blamed the show's producers and claimed the group had protested the display beforehand.
Los Alegres del Barranco singer Pavel Moreno said the band expressed their displeasure when pictures of Jalisco New Generation Cartel leader Ruben 'El Mencho' Oseguera and jailed Sinaloa Cartel cofounder Joaquín ' El Chapo ' Guzmán were flashed on the screen behind the stage during walk-through at the Telmex Auditorium in Zapopan, Jalisco hours before the March 29 concert.
'During the rehearsal, we said, "Hey, the images are a little too strong, aren't they?" Moreno recalled during an interview with Mexican journalist Luis Chaparro on the YouTube program 'Pie de Nota' on Sunday.
'We did tell him we didn't agree, but by the time we realized it, at the concert, it was all over.'
Footage of the concert showed Los Alegres del Barranco getting ready to sing its hit narcocorrido, or drug ballad, 'El Del Palenque,' when multiple pictures of El Mencho displayed on the screen.
They included mugshots, which were taken during El Mencho's arrests in California, followed by a sketch of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel leader.
Images of the infamous drug lord El Chapo were also shown during the concert.
Moreno stressed that the band never paid homage to any of the cartel honchos.
'What I can also emphasize is that it was not a tribute to anyone ever in my life,' he said.
At least 10,000 people attended the concert at the Telmex Auditorium, which is owned by the University of Guadalajara, and located about 35 miles from where authorities discovered a death camp operated by El Mencho's criminal network.
Moreno claimed that Los Alegres del Barranco, whose members are all natives of the neighboring state of Michoacán, were not aware of the proximity between the concert venue and the death camp.
'We're not from this state, we didn't know the news was so strong, the impact it had,' he said.
'Maybe we heard a little bit, but we weren't really in the loop. If they had told us, "Don't sing corridos," believe me, we wouldn't have sung.'
The band's performance didn't sit well with the Trump administration.
The US Department of Homeland Security revoked the work and tourist visas of its four members on April 1.
The Jalisco State Attorney General's Office launched an investigation and charged Los Alegres del Barranco, their manager and the concert promoter with glorifying crime on May 12.
They each were ordered to pay $10,000 and are required to present themselves in court once a week while the legal process plays out.
'No one has explained to us yet where the apology lies. The song doesn't encourage crime, it doesn't incite violence,' Moreno said. 'It's a narrative, like many others.'
'We respect the law, even though we disagree with the judge's ruling,' he added.
'But we have never committed a crime. We are musicians, not criminals.'
Moreno argued that 'El Del Palenque,' which was released in 2021, was performed on many occasions and never drew any condemnation.
'No one has explained to us yet where the apology lies, he said.
'The song doesn't encourage crime, it doesn't incite violence. It's a narrative, like many others.'
The group had been slated to perform five shows in Texas, California and Oklahoma and do three promotional appearances in April before the Trump administration announced its ban.
El Mencho's Jalisco New Generation Cartel was among six cartels designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and Specially Designated Global Terrorist in February 2025.
It is considered the most powerful in the country, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration's 2024 National Drug Threat Assessment.
The report indicated that the cartel has a presence in 24 of Mexico's 32 states and its capital, Mexico City, as well as every state in the US.
The US government is currently offering a $15 million reward for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of El Mencho, one of the 10 most-wanted men by the FBI list.
