Banda Idol Julión Álvarez Escapes Unharmed After Gunfight Near His Ranch in Chiapas

Mexican regional music idol Julión Álvarez was unharmed after allegedly being caught in the middle of a scuffle between two armed groups Friday night near his ranch in the southern state of Chiapas.

In a statement issued by Julión Álvarez y su Norteño Banda, the artist informed that both he and his family are fine.

"We clarify that Julión Álvarez was traveling along the road when two criminal groups were in a dispute between them, so the singer has nothing to do with those involved in the fight," the band said in its statement published on social media.

State authorities, however, gave a different version to that reported by Julión Álvarez. The government of Chiapas stated that there was a confrontation between "armed civilians" and members of various state and federal security agencies patrolling the area.

The area where Julión Álvarez's ranch, La Concordia, is located is in the vicinity of a region that has been affected by clashes between organized crime gangs seeking to control the market and trafficking of drugs, as well as people and contraband.

Years of contrasts

Julión Álvarez recently announced his 2024 tour entitled: "Los Prófugos del Anexo" -a reference to drug addicts who seek rehabilitation in specialized centers, sometimes against their will.

The tour will kick off on February 16 at Monterrey's Banorte Stadium and will extend throughout Mexico.

In June 2022, Spotify "accepted" Julión back after a veto due to the US government linking him to a criminal group and prohibiting him from earning profits from his music in the country.

In 2017, Julión was linked to Mexican Flores Drug Trafficking Organization by the U.S. Department of Treasury

The artist denied the charges and after a five-year process carried out by the Office of the Foreign Assets Control of the Department of Treasury, he was removed from the list known as Specially Designated Nationals.

This year, Julión Álvarez y su Norteño banda were nominated in the Latin Grammys Best Banda album category for "De hoy en adelante que te vaya bien." So far, Julión Álvarez has approximately 11 million monthly listeners on Spotify.