As it turns out, the U.S. Government is not super thrilled about the fact that Sean Penn travelled secretly to Mexico to interview Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman, the world’s most wanted drug lord, without giving them any kind of a heads-up.
Yesterday, Rolling Stone published an interview with the recently-captured Guzman, revealing that he had met with Penn at an undisclosed location in Mexico last October.
When asked about the interview by CNN, White House Chief Of Staff Denis McDonough said:
“One thing I will tell you is that this braggadocious action about how much heroin he sends around the world, including the United States, is maddening. We see a heroin epidemic, an opioid addiction epidemic, in this country… But El Chapo’s behind bars – that’s where he should stay.”
Authorities in Mexico have not yet said whether they will investigate Kate del Castillo, the actress who organised the interview, or Penn himself, although a Mexican government source indicated as much to ABC News:
#BREAKING Mexican government source tells ABC news that both Sean Penn and Kate Del Castillos are under investigation for meeting El Chapo
— Matt Gutman (@mattgutmanABC) January 10, 2016
When asked if the U.S. might hand the actor over to Mexico for questioning, he didn’t rule it out:
“Well, it poses a lot of very interesting questions both for him and for others involved in this-so-called interview, so we’ll see what happens on that – I’m not going to get ahead of it.”
Per Associated Press reports, Mexican officials say that Guzman’s interview with Penn helped lead law enforcement to his whereabouts. How El Chapo’s crew feels about this remains to be seen.
BREAKING: Mexican official says drug lord Guzman’s interview with actor Sean Penn led Mexican forces to his whereabouts.
— The Associated Press (@AP) January 10, 2016
The drug lord is in prison in Mexico, but reports indicate that he will be extradited to the U.S.
Story: BBC News
Photo: Michael Tran / Getty
