The U.S. has revoked the visas of members of Los Alegres del Barranco, after the Mexican band flashed big-screen images of a reputed drug lord during a concert.
The U.S. State Department has revoked the visas of musicians in a popular Mexican band after the group flashed big-screen images of the notorious Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as El Mencho, reputed leader of the powerful Jalisco New Generation cartel.
The band, Los Alegres del Barranco, projected a likeness of the secretive capo during a concert Saturday at the Telmex Auditorium in Zapopan, a suburb of Guadalajara, triggering protests.
The group “portrayed images glorifying drug kingpin ‘El Mencho’ — head of the grotesquely violent CJNG cartel,” Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, wrote Tuesday on X.
As a result, the State Department revoked the work and tourist visas of band members, wrote Landau, who served as ambassador to Mexico during part of President Trump’s first term.
“I’m a firm believer in freedom of expression, but that doesn’t mean that expression should be free of consequences,” Landau wrote. “In the Trump Administration, we take seriously our responsibility over foreigners’ access to our country. The last thing we need is a welcome mat for people who extol criminals and terrorists.”
The Trump administration has designated six Mexican cartels, including the Jalisco gang, as foreign terrorist organizations.
