Ernesto Barajas, narcocorrido singer, shot dead in Mexican car park

Posted On August 21, 2025August 21, 2025

Ernesto Barajas, singer of the successful Mexican narcocorrido group Enigma Norteño, has been shot dead, aged 38, in a car park.

According to The Associated Press, Barajas was attacked by two people who were riding a motorcycle, and the incident occurred in Zapopan, Jalisco. An investigation has since been launched into his death by local authorities.

In addition to Barajas, another man was killed and a woman was injured in the attack, according to authorities.

In a statement posted on Instagram, his management confirmed his passing, writing, “Rest in peace, Ernesto Barajas. Your Talento Líder family will always be proud of you and remember you as the great artist and human being that you were. May God bless you.”

Enigma Norteño have more than four million monthly unique listeners on Spotify and also boasts more than a million followers on Instagram.

The group were founded by Barajas and Humberto Perez in 2004. Enigma Norteño made a name for themselves in the sub-genre narcocorrido, which celebrates the exploits of those in the criminal underworld of Mexico.

According to CBS News, Enigma Norteño have a song dedicated to Nemesio Rubén ‘El Mencho’ Oseguera Cervantes, leader of the drug trafficking organisation Jalisco New Generation Cartel. The US governnment is currently offering a $15 million reward for any information that leads to Cervantes’ arrest.

During an interview in 2022, Barajas defended the controversial subgenre, stating to the Independent en Español, “If you, as a young person, listen to ‘narcocorridos’ and grow up in that circle, sooner or later you’ll want to imitate that pattern. We try to be very careful about what we say and not set a bad example. We’re very careful about that aspect.”

In the same interview, he also explained why the genre can be dangerous for artists, sharing, “It can be dangerous to release a corrido without authorization since you could be revealing a lot of information about the character, and the authorities would be using those details as ‘clues’ to arrest them.”

Earlier this year, five members of the band Fugitivo, another narcocorrido group, were killed by suspected drug traffickers in Tamaulipas.

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