Feds praise Mexican state’s ban on drug songs

CULIACAN, Mexico—A top Mexican official is calling for his countrymen to take a stand against ballads about drug traffickers known as “narco corridos.”

Federal security spokesman Alejandro Poire says the governor of northern Sinaloa state was right to ban songs glorifying drug cartels.

Poire wrote in his Twitter account Wednesday that “Narco corridos seek to justify crime.” Poire wrote “We have to confront them with a culture of legality.”

Poire praised new rules implemented earlier this month by Sinaloa state that will rescind the liquor licenses of businesses that play the songs.

There have been several scattered attempts by Mexican local governments to ban narco corridos since 2002.