Mexican heroin kingpin and Sinaloa Cartel leader Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman is one of the biggest drug lords of all time. Now, he’s been caught after six months on the run. But that’s just the beginning.
Three months earlier, El Chapo conducted an interview with acclaimed actor Sean Penn, which was published in Rolling Stone magazine. In the interview, El Chapo bragged that he sold more illegal narcotics than anybody in the world, and bragged about his submarines, airplanes, and other fleet. This interview took place in a secluded Mexican jungle, but a follow-up was done on a videotape sent to Penn. Surveillance was critical. They tracked cell phones and other electronics of the people El Chapo kept in contact with. The US and Mexican officials shared intelligence. There are pictures everywhere of Penn and El Chapo shaking hands. Surveillance followed Penn as he touched down in Mexico. Major Mexican newspaper El Universal has pictures of Penn greeting the guys who took them to an airstrip and flew them to secluded jungle in which El Chapo hid. Mexican intelligence photographed Penn and actress Kate del?Castillo (who helped set up the interview). Eventually, intelligence got to the tunnel El Chapo hid in. Penn himself said he thought he was being spied on.
There are more questions than answers here. Did Penn and del Castillo deliberately help the authorities catch El Chapo? I doubt it very seriously. That’s not their style. But I do believe Penn gave an unwilling assist in El Chapo’s capture. So we can all learn a lesson here. Big brother is watching, especially when you’re dealing with one of the most notorious criminals in the world. And in 2016, governments can easily track you. One would think Penn would know better. But he went through the interview anyway. No matter what the promise, payout, or potential reward is, would you interview one of the biggest drug dealers ever?