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Trump Administration Yanks Visas of Band Members Over What They Displayed at Concert

Leah Barkoukis
Leah Barkoukis  |  April 04, 2025 11:00 AM

The State Department has revoked the visas of members of a Mexican band over what they displayed at one of their concerts over the weekend.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, who served as ambassador to Mexico in the first Trump administration, shared video of the incident that caused the U.S. to pull the work and tourism visas of members of Los Alegres del Barranco.

As they sang onstage, drug cartel boss Nemesio Ruben Oseguera-Cervantes, or "el Mencho," was glorified on a projection screen behind them. 

According to the BBC, the song the band played that accompanied the “El Mencho” images similarly praised the drug kingpin, calling him “a man of war who loves his family” and celebrated his exploits. (The BBC notes that Los Alegres del Barranco also have a song honoring Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.)

Los Alegres del Barranco first drew condemnation from Mexican politicians — including President Claudia Sheinbaum, who criticized the band’s actions as “glorification of crime” and opened an investigation — before lawmakers stateside caught wind of the “El Mencho” images, leading to the revocation of the band’s visas and ultimately the cancellation of their upcoming shows in the U.S. (Rolling Stone)

“I’m a firm believer in freedom of expression, but that doesn’t mean that expression should be free of consequences," Landau said on X. "A Mexican band, 'Los Alegres del Barranco,' portrayed images glorifying drug kingpin 'El Mencho'— head of the grotesquely violent CJNG cartel — at a recent concert in Mexico. I’m pleased to announce that the State Department has revoked the band members’ work and tourism visas. 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 State Department is offering up to $10 million for information leading to his arrest and/or conviction. 

Nemesio Ruben Oseguera-Cervantes is the alleged founder and current leader of the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG), a major drug trafficking organization (DTO) based in Jalisco, Mexico. CJNG and Oseguera-Cervantes rose to power around 2009 as the leader of the Valencia/Milenio Cartel began to lose power. Oseguera-Cervantes took advantage of this lull in leadership, and joined the Los Cuinis DTO to fight off competition for the control of the Jalisco, Nayarit, and Colima drug distribution networks.

Through extreme violence, corruption, and extortion, CJNG has increased its presence in Mexico, engaging in turf battles throughout the country and steadily expanding their territory and control. Oseguera-Cervantes has allegedly grown CJNG from a regionally based drug trafficking organization into an international organized crime power, involved with the production and distribution of narcotics throughout the world. CJNG allegedly produces multi-hundred kilogram quantities of methamphetamine and heroin, and traffics in multi-ton quantities of cocaine.

Oseguera-Cervantes has been charged in a 2014 District of Columbia federal indictment for violations of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 848, 959, 960, and 963, and Title 18, United States Code, Sections 924. (State Department)