Zapopan News: Artist Who Praised El Mencho of CJNG and Los Chapitos Gunned Down

A well-known Mexican singer known for singing songs about powerful Mexican drug lords was killed in an open lot out in the country's west, officials reported late Tuesday.

Ernesto Barajas, the voice of the band Enigma Norteno which draws four million fans each month on Spotify was fatally shot in the town of Zapopan in Jalisco state in Mexico. Local news reports suggested that Barajas had gotten warnings from the CJNG before the incident.

Barajas joins a list of artists from the world of narcocorridos - a controversial genre of local music that praises the activities of notorious crime groups. In May, five people from the band Fugitivo were killed by criminal elements in Tamaulipas state. Their remains were discovered days later after their relatives told police about calls related to ransom.

Authorities say two men came toward Barajas on a motorcycle in an open lot on Tuesday and just started shooting. A second man was killed in the chaos and a woman was wounded, according to reports.

Enigma Norteno's song list features a track about CJNG drug lord Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes also known as El Mencho. El Mencho heads the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), a major player in Mexico's underworld.

The band has in the past also performed a song called Los Chapitos that praises the sons of the infamous crime boss Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, who is now serving a life sentence in an American prison. The Los Chapitos have been known to use extreme violence to take out their enemies based on a formal charge sheet from the US Justice Department.

It's understood that Mexican crime syndicates typically pay singers to create and sing songs that build up their image and sometimes the musicians find themselves in the middle of cartel disagreements.

That said, Barajas always insisted that he wasn't involved in that world but he did say gangs would sometimes ask him to write songs for them.

While on the Univision show Sientese Quién Pueda in America, Barajas looked back on the band's early days and described how they started making corridos for some of the big names in Mexico.

Besides singing, Barajas also worked as the producer for his group and wrote a lot of their material.

In one song about El Chapo, he mentioned the famous escape from Altiplano prison on July 11, 2015, which was done via a tunnel.

That said, musicians in the narcocorrido space have been singled out lately with five people from the local band, Fugitivo, being killed in northern Mexico in May. Their remains were discovered on an empty lot. Nine suspects are now in custody following investigations. The individuals arrested were part of the Los Metros wing of the Gulf Cartel

A few cities in the country have outlawed narcocorridos, which led to a big problem at a recent show when a musician wouldn't play some of his biggest hits.

Over the past few months, the Trump administration has cancelled the visas for a number of musicians connected to the genre. Back in May, the Mexican group Grupo Firme, which has made an effort to move away from the cartel-focused topics of the music said it had to call off a planned concert in California since its visas had been pulled.

In April, the Trump administration revealed it was pulling the visas for the band Alegres de Barranco. This was after they showed an image of drug lord El Mencho on a screen at a show. The situation caused a big stir and even some legal trouble back in Mexico. In June, the group released an anti-narco track, apparently trying to change its image.

Just this month, the Trump administration penalized Mexican singer Ricardo Hernández, who goes by the stage name El Makabelico, following claims that the musician was helping a drug cartel move its money.