Sean Penn insists that his interview with Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman had nothing to do with the escaped drug lord’s recent capture, but the Mexican government say otherwise, with Attorney General Arely Gomez saying their meeting was an “essential” element in the wider operation.
Now, a former chief of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency has come out and said what we were all sort of thinking anyway – that Penn’s adventure in gonzo journalism may have actually put his life at risk.
Penn’s Rolling Stone profile of Guzman included a quote in which he spoke about his illegal activities:
“I supply more heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana than anybody else in the world. I have a fleet of submarines, airplanes, trucks and boats.”
Guzman’s lawyer has since denied that his client, “a very serious man” (no shit), would ever incriminate himself in this manner, and criticised Penn for the “lies” and “absurd speculation” in his piece.
(In fact, it has since come to light that Guzman had no idea who Penn was before their clandestine interview, and possibly only did it to get close to actress Kate del Castillo, who helped facilitate it).
Former DEA Chief of International Operations Mike Vigil spoke to Yahoo News, and said that the potential consequences for Penn could be dire indeed:
“These cartels are very violent, they do not forgive any transgression and they will respond in a most violent manner. These are people who have dismembered, who have decapitated individuals. So killing Sean Penn and del Castillo means absolutely nothing to them.”
Vigil also criticised the Mexican government for publicising the link between Penn’s interview and El Chapo’s capture, saying that if the drug lord or his people cotton on to this idea, those involved should “run like the wind.”
“If Chapo Guzman perceives that they cooperated with authorities in his capture, [the cartel] will go after them. He developed a childlike infatuation with del Castillo and forgot about the fact that when he was captured in 2014, he was captured as a result of telephone monitoring. Apart from that, [del Castillo] is originally from Mexico, she has all of her family in Mexico. One of the traditional violent methods [the cartels] use is if they can’t get to the target, they’ll go after their family members.”
Sean Penn appeared recently on the U.S. edition of 60 Minutes to discuss his disappointment with how the interview has been perceived, and his reasons for conducting it. You can read a transcript here.
Story: Yahoo News
Photo: Johathan Leibson / Getty
