A man has been arrested in connection with the killing of the rising Tijuana corrido singer known as Chuy Montana and his driver earlier this month, the Baja California attorney general said Tuesday.
The incident began at a party early Feb. 7 that the victim, whose real name is Jesús Nolberto Cárdenas, attended along with his driver and a group at a Rosarito motel. Baja California prosecutors said a fight started after Cárdenas sang songs that “one of his attackers did not like” and, although he was asked to stop, he continued.
Officials did not specify the songs at issue, but state prosecutor María Elena Andrade said the argument over the lyrics appeared to be due to “personal issues affecting one of the attackers” and were not related to “narcocorridos,” or songs that glorify drug traffickers and narco culture.
The altercation may have escalated due to alcohol and drug use at the party, Andrade said at a press conference in Tijuana Tuesday.
Cardenas was beaten, handcuffed and placed in a vehicle by assailants. He was later shot to death on a stretch of the Rosarito-Tijuana highway. Andrade said security videos show that Cárdenas tried unsuccessfully to get out of the vehicle while still in Rosarito.
His driver was found dead and wrapped in a blanket the next day in Tijuana, the news site Punto Norte reported.
The driver, identified as Miguel Pavón, was found with a message allegedly from a drug cartel, although prosecutors said that sometimes such messages are used as distractions.
Andrade said that although no line of investigation has yet been ruled out, so far it does not appear that the killings were cartel-related.
The alleged killer, identified by officials only by his first and middle name as Kevin Alejandro, per policy, was arrested two days ago in Tijuana. Prosecutors suspect he was involved in both deaths, although the investigation is still ongoing, Andrade said.
Cárdenas was signed by Street Mob Records, owned by the lead singer of the popular regional Mexican band Fuerza Regida, Jesús Ortíz Paz.
He was discovered by Ortíz in 2023 while singing for people waiting to cross at the San Ysidro Port of Entry, as seen in a TikTok video.
Chuy Montana, as he was known, has 2 million monthly listeners on Spotify. His 2023 single “Porte de Scarface” has more than 26 million plays. The singer was also featured in the song “Polvos de Chanel” from Fuerza Regida’s latest album.
