Jhayco was arrested early Tuesday morning for cocaine and cannabis possession after being seen by officers with “white powder on his nose,” the Miami-Dade County Sheriff’s Office tells Rolling Stone.
The reggaeton singer — real name Jesus Manuel Nieves Cortes — was driving a red two-door Corvette when he was pulled over on Southwest 8th Street around 3 a.m. The singer was allegedly going 5 miles per hour, and took over a minute to drive while on a complete stop, according to an arrest affidavit reviewed by Rolling Stone. He was then pulled over.
According to the deputy’s report, the officials saw that Cortes had “white powder on his pants and white powder on his nose,” and that they noticed a “strong odor” of cannabis coming from his vehicle. Jhayco was then allegedly unable to hand over a driver’s license.
Deputies say they found two pouches of cannabis with seven grams each, along with “clear baggies with suspect powder cocaine,” that held two grams of the illegal substance, inside his pockets.
“As we explained to the defendant [that] he was getting arrested for the cocaine, he spontaneously stated it was not cocaine, it was [tusi],” read the report, referring to the drug cocktail, which can include ketamine, MDMA, opioids and other psychoactive substances.
Courtesy of Miami-Dade Country Corrections and Rehabilitations
According to Miami-Dade’s jail records reviewed by Rolling Stone, the reggaeton star submitted a $3,000 bond — $2,500 for cocaine possession, $500 for possession of 20 grams or less of marijuana — and was booked on Tuesday at 4:24 a.m. ET.
Jhayco has yet to address the arrest online, and a rep for the singer did not immediately respond to Rolling Stone‘s request for comment.
The arrest comes just a few days before he’s set to perform at Monterrey’s Dale MIXX festival. The singer’s last album, Le Clique: Vida Rockstar (X), dropped in September 2024. The LP included songs like “Mami Chula” with Quevedo, “Holanda,” and “Passoa.”
