The Trump administration said Wednesday it was sanctioning Mexican musician Ricardo Hernández, known as "El Makabelico," over allegations that the artist was laundering money for a drug cartel. The administration has stripped the visas of some of Mexico's most famous musicians, targeting those whose work explores themes related to cartels, the AP reports. Referring to the musician as a "narco-rapper," the US Treasury Department accused Hernández of being associated with the Cartel del Noreste, an evolution of the former Zetas Cartel.
According to the department, he laundered money for the criminal group through concerts and events. The CDN is one of several Latin American organized crime groups that the Trump administration has designated as a foreign terrorist organization. The administration alleges that 50% of Hernández's royalties on streaming platforms go directly to the cartel, leading to his sanctioning alongside leaders of the cartel on allegations that he acted for or on behalf of the criminal group. "CDN depends on these alternative revenue streams and money laundering methods to boost their criminal enterprise, diversifying their income beyond criminal activity like drug trafficking, human smuggling, and extortion," wrote the Treasury Department in a news release.
The sanctions would block the rapper's properties in the US and freeze financial transactions with any businesses owned by those sanctioned, as well as threaten secondary sanctions against foreign financial institutions that do business with them, per the AP. Hernández, whose stage name is a play on words relating to cartels, performs wearing a black ski mask and often sings songs related to the criminal groups, making reference to street life, cartel lifestyles, and the realities faced in cartel-dominated areas.
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