A well-liked Mexican musician who sang the praises of drug lords was shot useless in a car parking zone within the west of the nation, police mentioned late Tuesday.
Ernesto Barajas, a singer with the group Enigma Norteno, which has 4 million month-to-month listeners on Spotify, was gunned down within the metropolis of Zapopan in Jalisco state.
He’s amongst a number of performers of so-called “narco-corridos” — a controversial sub-genre of regional music that celebrates the exploits of notorious drug cartels — to have been killed in latest months. In Might, 5 members of the group Fugitivo have been murdered by suspected drug traffickers in Tamaulipas state. Their our bodies have been discovered a number of days after their households reported receiving ransom calls for.
Police mentioned two males approached Barajas by motorbike in a car parking zone on Tuesday and opened hearth on him. One other man died within the assault and a lady was injured within the leg, they mentioned.
Ernesto Barajas of the band Enigma Norteno performs onstage in the course of the Smoke Me Out Competition at Queen Mary Occasions Park on Aug. 18, 2018, in Lengthy Seaside, California.
Scott Dudelson/Getty Pictures
Enigma Norteno’s repertoire features a track devoted Nemesio Rubén “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes, chief of the Jalisco New Technology Cartel (CJNG), one in all Mexico’s greatest drug trafficking organizations. The U.S. authorities has provided a $15 million reward for info resulting in his seize.
The group additionally has a monitor known as “Los Chapitos,” after the sons of infamous drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, at present serving life imprisonment in the USA. The Chapitos have used corkscrews, electrocution and sizzling chiles to torture their rivals whereas a few of their victims have been “fed dead or alive to tigers,” in line with an indictment launched by the U.S. Justice Division.
Mexican prison teams pay musicians to compose and carry out songs that glorify their exploits.
Typically the singers get caught up in turf wars.
Mexican media mentioned that Barajas had acquired threats from the CJNG prior to now.
A number of areas within the nation have banned “narco-corridos,” sparking a latest riot throughout a live performance after a singer refused to carry out a few of his hottest songs.
In latest months, the Trump administration has revoked the visas of a slew of artists associated to the style. In Might, the well-known northern Mexican band Grupo Firme, which has taken steps to distance itself from the cartel-centric themes of the style, introduced it must cancel an upcoming present in California as a result of its visas have been suspended.
In April, the administration mentioned it was revoking the visas of the band Alegres de Barranco after they flashed the face of “El Mencho” behind them at a live performance, prompting an issue and even prison investigations in Mexico. In June, the band launched an anti-narco track in a bid to clear its identify.
Earlier this month, the Trump administration sanctioned Mexican musician Ricardo Hernández, referred to as “El Makabelico,” over allegations that the artist was laundering cash for a drug cartel.
