President Donald Trump has wanted to “wage WAR” on Mexican drug cartels dating back to his first Presidential term. His former Defense Secretary, Marc Esper, who served in the role from 2019 to 2020, revealed that President Trump suggested shooting U.S. Military missiles into Mexico “to go after the cartels.”
Now that Trump is President for a second time, he is not only taking on the Mexican drug cartels by having his administration designate six of them as “Foreign Terrorist Organizations,” but he and his administration are also taking on a particular Mexican music genre and its artists.
In recent months, the Trump administration has revoked or suspended the visas of several regional Mexican music artists.
Regional Mexican music is a general term used to categorize several Mexican music genres.
Corridos is one of the Mexican music genres that is under the umbrella of regional Mexican music. The subgenre has been a part of the Mexican music scene since the Mexican Revolution, according to Billboard. It has evolved since then to include, among others, corridos tumbados, corridos bélicos, and narcocorridos.
A dark cloud has hung over corridos since the creation of narcocorridos, as its subjects are often figures of that world.
The ongoing revocation or suspension of regional Mexican music artists’ visas by the Trump administration started after an incident involving a narcocorrido.
Los Alegres del Barranco
On March 29, Mexican band Los Alegres del Barranco performed in the Mexican state of Jalisco. During their performance, images of the leader of the Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, better known as “El Mencho,” were displayed on screen as they began to sing “El del Palenque.”
The incident prompted an investigation by the Jalisco State Prosecutor’s Office that resulted in the Prosecutor’s Office charging Los Alegres del Barranco, their manager, and their concert promoter for allegedly condoning crime.
The Trump administration responded to the incident by revoking the visas of Los Alegres del Barranco.
On April 1, Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau announced on X that the United States government had revoked the work and tourism visas of the members of the band, writing, “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.”
No longer able to enter the U.S., Los Alegres del Barranco canceled their planned 2025 U.S. tour.
The Trump administration’s revocation of Los Alegres del Barranco’s visas was a warning to regional Mexican music artists about what was to come.
The administration has revoked or suspended the visas of five regional Mexican music artists, including popular artists Julión Álvarez and Grupo Firme, in the months following the revocation of Los Alegres del Barranco’s visas.
Julión Álvarez
To the disappointment of his fans, 50,000 of whom had bought tickets to see him perform at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on May 24, Julión Álvarez announced on May 23 via Instagram that the concert “would not take place” because the Trump administration had revoked his work visa.
Álvarez explained that the administration notified him and his team on the morning of May 23 that it had canceled their work visas.
The 42-year-old singer went on to say that, along with his promoter, CMN, he had “made the decision to postpone the event,” and reassured the 50,000 fans who were planning on attending the May 24 concert that their tickets would be valid for the new date.
Álvarvez previously had a run-in with the U.S. government.
In 2017, the U.S. government accused Álvarez of having acted as a front person for Mexican drug kingpin Raul Flores Hernandez and his drug trafficking organization. As a result, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Álvarez for five years until his removal from the Specially Designated Nationals list in 2022.
Álvarez has previously denied the accusations leveled against him by the U.S. government in 2017.
His second run-in with the U.S. government comes on the heels of Álvarez becoming the first Latin artist to perform at and sell out SoFi Stadium three nights in a row, which were also the first three shows of his “4218 Tour USA 2025.” “El Rey de la Taquilla,” as Álvarez is known, became the third artist to perform at SoFi Stadium three nights in a row, joining Beyoncé and The Rolling Stones.
Grupo Firme
A week after Julión Álvarez announced that the Trump administration had revoked his work visa, Grupo Firme announced via a statement on Instagram that they would “not be performing on June 1 at the La Onda Fest in Napa Valley, California.”
The Tijuana-based band explained that their visas and those of their team are currently under “administrative review by the U.S. Embassy,” which made it “impossible” for them to perform at the festival.
Days later, band member Abraham Luna clarified that they had their tourism visas, and it was their work visas that were under review.
The Trump administration’s explanation, or lack thereof
The Trump administration has used the fact that visa records are confidential under U.S. law to shield itself from having to explain why they have revoked or suspended the visas of several regional Mexican music artists.
Their lack of transparency has left room for speculation. But according to a spokesperson for the State Department, “the decision to conduct administrative processing is made on a case-by-case basis and is not limited to applicants or applications from particular countries.”
The administration also revoked or suspended the visas of regional Mexican music artists Lorenzo de Monteclaro, Josi Cuén, and Enigma Norteño.