Mexican Band Cancels US Show After Trump Admin Says Its Genre Glorifies Cartel Violence, Suspends Visas

Conservative News DailyMay 31, 2025

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Grupo Firme,a popular Mexican regional music band,has announced the cancellation of its performance at the La Onda Fest in napa Valley,California,due to the suspension of their visas by the U.S. government. This visa suspension follows a trend where the U.S. State Department has revoked the visas of several Mexican musicians who have been accused of glorifying cartel violence through their music, especially in the “narco-corridos” genre. The band stated that their visas are under “administrative review” by the U.S. Embassy, making it impossible for them to perform at the festival scheduled for June 1. While the embassy did not disclose further details due to confidentiality laws, this situation reflects ongoing actions by the U.S. administration to regulate music that it sees as problematic. Grupo Firme has recently distanced itself from the controversial aspects of this genre, indicating they will avoid performing songs that glorify criminal groups in future concerts.

The popular Mexican regional music band Grupo Firme announced on Friday that it was canceling a performance in a music festival in California over the weekend after the United States government suspended the musicians’ visas.

It comes after the U.S. State Department has revoked visas of a number of Mexican musicians for playing a genre of music that it says glorifies cartel violence.

The group, which has soared to international fame playing Mexican regional music, said in a statement posted on its Instagram account that the visas of them and their team are currently under “administrative review by the U.S. Embassy” and that it would make it “impossible” for them to perform in the La Onda Fest to be held in the city of Napa Valley, California on June 1.

But the post didn’t detail what it would mean in the long term for the musical group.

The U.S. Embassy in Mexico said that visa cases are confidential according to U.S. law and couldn’t provide more information on the case.

The suspension is just the latest in a series of moves the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has taken targeting Mexican artists in the genre, who in some cases have glorified the leaders of cartels as sort of Robin Hood figures.

While the genre of “narco-corridos” has stirred controversy, much of the music also speaks to the harsh realities facing Mexican youth caught in cartel violence.

Two months ago, the Mexican musical group Los Alegres del Barranco was sanctioned after it projected images of the leader of the feared Jalisco New Generation Cartel at a concert in the western state of Jalisco.

“I’m a firm believer in freedom of expression, but that doesn’t mean that expression should be free of consequences,” U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said at the time.

“The last thing we need is a welcome mat for people who extol criminals and terrorists.”

But Grupo Firme has taken steps in recent months to distance itself from the facet of the musical genre glorifying criminal groups, announcing in April shortly after the controversy that it would not sing such music in concerts.

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