LOS ANGELES — Months after facing backlash for projecting the image of an alleged drug cartel leader during a concert, Los Alegres del Barranco have reached an agreement with Mexican authorities that would temporarily pause a criminal investigation into the band.

The Council of the Judiciary of the State of Jalisco agreed on Monday to lift the criminal proceedings that began after the Mexican corrido band behind songs like “La Gente del Chapo” and “La Muerte del Comandante” displayed a photograph of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes (also known as “El Mencho”), the reputed leader of the Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación, during their March 29 concert at the Telmex Auditorium in Zapopan, a suburb of Guadalajara.

The decision was made after the members of Los Alegres del Barranco agreed to several conditions, including releasing an anti-narcocorrido track and agreeing to a probationary period of six months, Billboard reported.

On June 15, the band released a song called “El Consejo,” about the consequences youth can face if they get involved with drug lords and cartels.

“It’s worth noting that after accepting [Jalisco] Gov. Pablo Lemus’s invitation to record an anti-corrido, the song ‘El Consejo has more than 2 million cumulative plays on all of the band’s platforms,” Los Alegres del Barranco said in a statement to The Times.

The agreement requires that the band members maintain residency in Guadalajara, that they periodically check in with state authorities and that they hold conversations with incarcerated youth, encouraging them to stay away from organized crime. The case will be dropped after a six-month period if the musicians meet the conditions, the band said.

Days after the group’s controversial concert, the U.S. State Department revoked the band’s work and tourist visas, which resulted in the cancellation of its scheduled U.S. show dates, including a stop on May 25 at Pico Rivera Sports Arena.

“I’m a firm believer in freedom of expression, but that doesn’t mean that expression should be free of consequences,” Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau wrote in an April 1 post to X announcing the visa revocations.

“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,” he added.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum also criticized Los Alegres del Barranco during a May 31 press conference.

“No apology can be made for violence or criminal groups,” she said.

Roughly a third of Mexico’s states and many cities have banned the performance of narcocorridos in recent years.

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