Ruthless Mexican cartel threatens to kill famed singer, other artists: "This is the last time you will receive a warning"

Authorities in Mexico are offering state protection to famed regional Mexican singer Natanael Cano and other artists after a ruthless drug cartel in northern Mexico publicly threatened them, prosecutors confirmed to The Associated Press on Tuesday.

Photos of a banner threatening the lives of Cano, a singer of corridos, a musical genre often linked to drug cartel violence, and several other artists in the Sonora region circulated on social media over the weekend.

The banner appeared to be signed by "Jalisco Matasalas," a group within a faction of the Sinaloa cartel known as the "Chapitos," which sowed terror in northern Mexico in recent months in a bloody power struggle. The Chapitos -- which include sons of notorious drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman -- have used corkscrews, electrocution and hot chiles to torture their rivals while some of their victims were "fed dead or alive to tigers," according to an indictment released by the U.S. Justice Department.