Mexican Rapper El Makabelico Faces U.S. Sanctions, As Feds Claim Streaming Revenue Funds Cartel

The U.S. government is imposing harsh sanctions on Mexican rapper El Makabelico over allegations that his concert revenue and streaming royalties are being used to support a violent drug cartel.

Makabelico (Ricardo Hernandez Medrano), whose songs been played hundreds of millions of times on Spotify, is a “narco-rapper” and a “prominent associate” of Cartel del Noreste, one of Mexico’s “most violent drug trafficking organizations,” the Treasury Department says.

“Hernandez’s concerts and events are used to launder money on behalf of the organization, with 50 percent of his royalties from streaming platforms going directly to the group,” Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said in a Wednesday release announcing the sanctions.

The violent cartel “depends on these alternative revenue streams and money laundering methods” for “diversifying their income” beyond more direct criminal activities like drug trafficking and human smuggling, OFAC wrote.

The sanctions designation will impose strict restrictions on Makabelico, including blocking his assets in the U.S. and barring any U.S. residents or companies from doing business with him. A rep for the artist could not immediately be located for comment.

Makabelico, who has more than 1 million followers on Instagram and 2.7 million subscribers on YouTube, appears to have been signed to Del Records, a top record company for regional Mexican music. Del sells his merchandise on its website, is listed as his label in online song credits, and is linked on his Instagram profile.

Del Records did not immediately return a request for comment on Wednesday.

The new sanctions come months after Del Records CEO Ángel Del Villar was convicted on federal charges of doing business with Jesus Pérez Alvear, a concert promoter linked to Mexican drug cartels. Prosecutors alleged that Del Villar repeatedly arranged concerts with Pérez Alvear despite knowing that he was already under similar OFAC sanctions as those imposed Wednesday on Makabelico.

Del Villar faces sentencing on those convictions next week, with prosecutors seeking more than six years in prison, three years supervised release, and a $300,000 fine.