If you were watching the news last Friday, you probably saw that Mexican drug lord El Chapo (Jaoquin Guzman) had been captured again. El Chapo had escaped from prison in Mexico in 2015 and he was “on the run” for months. Turns out, some people did know how to get in touch with him while he was on the run though. People like… Sean Penn. Penn and El Chapo sat down for a lengthy interview in Rolling Stone, and now it’s being said that Penn played some part in the capture of El Chapo?
In a surprising development, Rolling Stone has published the first-ever interview with fugitive Mexican drug lord Joaquín Guzman, known as “El Chapo,” conducted by none other than Oscar-winning actor Sean Penn. ABC News reported Saturday night that Penn is now under investigation for the interview, according to a Mexican official. Since Penn had been in contact with Guzman for several months, authorities are presumably interested to find out why the actor did not earlier share any information on the wanted man.
According to the Associated Press, Penn’s interview helped lead authorities to Guzman, who was captured and returned to prison Friday.
The interview published Saturday evening was conducted in October while the drug lord was on the run from Mexican and U.S. authorities. Mexican actress Kate del Castillo, star of Telemundo’s hit 2011 telenovela “La Reina del Sur,” in which she played a ruthless drug cartel leader, accompanied Penn to a secret location deep in the Mexican jungle. It was arranged through a producer he calls Espinoza in the article. Castillo is also now under investigation in the stranger-than-fiction story that seems tailor-made for a telenovela of its own.
None of El Chapo’s soldiers or associates spoke in English, so the jungle meeting was translated by Castillo, whom the drug lord had been in contact with after she tweeted a plea to him to use his power to help people. But the first contact was more of a meet and greet; the actor then spent several weeks trying to contact El Chapo via Castillo, and finally received a video answering the questions he had submitted. In a radical departure from journalistic practice, the entire Rolling Stone story was submitted to El Chapo for approval, and Penn says the drug lord did not ask for any changes.
Though El Chapo formerly denied being a drug dealer, he told Penn that he wanted a feature film to tell his story, boasting, “I supply more heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana than anybody else in the world. I have a fleet of submarines, airplanes, trucks and boats.” Chapo went on to admit that he once drug kingpin Pablo Escobar: “Yes, I met him once at his house. Big house.” When asked about GOP candidate Donald Trump, he gave a sarcastic, “Mi amigo!”
Using a gonzo-style approach, Penn details his secret trip to the Mexican jungle that originated with a secret meeting in New York and, ends, oddly, with the actor passing gas in front of El Chapo.
If you can win El Chapo’s confidence by farting in front of him, surely we should have sent Jennifer Lawrence or Jessica Simpson? Anyway, this whole thing sounds completely crazy and I really don’t know what to say about it. It honestly doesn’t sound like Penn “helped” authorities capture El Chapo, nor did Penn knowingly lead authorities to El Chapo. Penn might have unwittingly and inadvertently helped authorities, which is what it sounds like. Basically, I think the Mexican authorities really should be investigating Penn.
Rolling Stone published a video clip of El Chapo speaking to Penn – go here to see.
Photos courtesy of Getty.
Penn has always been a disgrace but this is just insane! Chapo is a murderer (several hundred times over) and all Penn was concerned about was getting a scoop. Perhaps he can join his new BFF in prison.
Absolutely disgusting and unforgivable on Rolling Stone and Sean Penn’s part. There should be heavy consequences for this type of action. Why do we glorify horrible people?
They’re celebrities so I guess that makes it all okay.
“Absolutely disgusting and unforgivable” ??????
Anyone working as a journalist would have jumped at the chance for this interview. Subtract the name “Penn” from the equation and you’d probably see it that way yourself. Dislike Penn all you want, but condemning him for this is just plain ridiculous. Besides, I give him special kudos for a true level of fearlessness. I would think any journo attempting an interview like this would have had to be wondering if at the end, they’d be able to walk out the door on their own two feet.
I disagree. An interview like this has huge cultural and journalistic value. BUT, I think a professional and experienced journalist would have made a more interesting read. This seems more about Penn’s own overblown sense of self-importance more than about El Chapo. I have to acknowledge that he would’t have trusted a journalist to write the piece.
@nikola Sean Penn or Joe Shmoe, what does that matter? I would feel the exact same way if the person was famous or not. Knowingly interviewing a wanted murderer and drug trafficker who was hiding from authorities is wrong. Maybe doing some research on El Chapo his crimes and their far reaching effects would change your mind. Knowing where this guy was hiding and not turning him in is wrong. Not sure why thats hard to grasp?
I’m probably about to be accused of being a Sean Penn apologist (again, lol) but interviewing a notorious subject matter shouldnt reflect on the interviewer. El Chapo is a fascinating figure, in spite or maybe because of his activities. Its a story that many want to hear told, not just Sean Penn. If we vilified those who tell the stories of men like this, drug barons, serial killers, dictators, rapists and even terrorists, we do away with half the news media and much of the film industry. And nothing I saw in the article lionised El Chapo, in fact his crimes are laid bare and his victims humanised in the very first paragraphs. Sean even addresses these very concerns. In the end, many of us find this a compelling story. A story in which the subject matter is the devil but compelling none the less.
The difference between Penn and the others you mention Naya is that most such stories and interviews are told from jail or after the fact. How many crimes were committed during the time Penn had is meeting and his capture? Penn is and always will be a prick but this is a new low.
Naya, I agree with you, but I’m still mystified by the Sean Penn angle. RS has real reporters on staff. People whose names wouldn’t become the story. While many investigative journalists have become big names through their work, the fact that Penn is already a celebrity many times over detracts from the “don’t hate the journalist for the story” angle since he’s part of the story.
Journalist interview notorious people all of the time – agreed. It is unusual to have the interviewee “own” the story however. Since RS/Penn agreed not to make changes then is it really journalism or just an endorsement for whomever they are interviewing? On a personal level I also see a difference between being the first person to interview a notorious person in jail v. going to their hideout to scoop the story.
@Bettyrose Yes I take your point regarding Sean opening himself up to criticism because of the gonzo approach. In fact since they never quite got to schedule a proper interview, this became a story about Seans process and mindset rather than El Chapo himself. Thats gonzo journalism for you. I personally have no problem with that either, some of the best pieces I have ever read are gonzo. As for why RS chose Sean Penn….they didnt. Sean chose RS. Sean realised he may have a way to El Chapo and HE approached RS with the story idea. I doubt El Chapo would have spoken to anybody else, especially since he seemed to have been trying to get in with Sean Penn the movie star too.
@ERM I hear you but I dont agree with the distinction you are trying to draw. Theres the famous Osama interview conducted while he was in hiding which was hailed in journalist circles. Its not a distinction people seem to draw on interviews of coup leaders, sitting dictators, rebel commanders, extremist clerics et cetera, either. The story tellers job is to observe and document, I dont know how demanding that journalists only interview subjects that have received the comeuppance is helpful.
I understand how the subject may be interesting, but the guy was on the run from the law. I am not sure how Sean Penn avoids obstruction of justice charges here. This is a drug dealer that only some people know about. What if a journalist had interviewed Osama bin Laden? Especially an American one. That journalist would have been pursued by the CIA and military and charged.
Not sure everyone is glossing over the fact that El Chapo escaped from prison and was on the run when this interview took place but its certainly disturbing. He was not in custody, if he was I would have no problem whatsoever with this interview.
@NIc Osama bin Laden WAS interviewed multiple times while he was a wanted man, most notably just a few weeks after 9/11. He is far from the only person in hiding to be interviewed, another extremely prominent example that comes to mind from recent years is Edward Snowden. But again there are many examples, theres nothing new here, it is a journalists prerogative who he wishes to interview, For very good reason too as the Snowden case illustrates. I doubt the US government could compel any information out of him once he claims a journalists privilege to not reveal sources or his process to authorities.
@Bettyrose
Yeah, this. The sole fact it’s Sean Penn makes the story more about him than the intervewed subject.
Yes, there’s a long tradition of journalists interviewing people on the run, notorious and just loathsome people as some have mentioned. I think some people just don’t understand or remember that, or just like hating on Sean Penn.
I don’t know if the subject is covered in the journalists’ code of ethics or standards or whatever, but it’s nothing new.
It’s one thing to interview a killer when they’re behind bars. But to have information about a wanted criminal, one who the U.S. Has been trying to capture for many months, and choose to interview him for your own glory rather than cooperate with authorities, is TERRIBLE in my opinion. And this guy has committed terrible murders besides his drug trafficking. I hope Penn is prosecuted for abetting a criminal.
Sounds more like Penn wants to do a movie on the man and he used this as research. I know Hollywood can’t be original any more but how about no more movies, TV movies on these type of people.
ding-ding-ding!
Winner winner chicken dinner!
I live in a town with a “club” named “Escobar”, as if that’s something cool? I know people -personally- who have left their home towns in Mexico due to drug cartel violence. It’s an holocaust of our new millennia, not something to glorify. Penn is two-faced, helping victims of atrocity (Haiti) then glorifying a perpetrator of mass murder. I would much rather an interview- while the man is in custody- than edgy bragging rights whilst snubbing the law.
I agree with Nikola and Alice … Penn did nothing wrong here. He did something pretty impressive. Interviewing a person is not glorifying them. Readers who think otherwise might need more training in how to read, as well as the difference between a blog and real journalism. Many who read on the internet now are unfamiliar with journalism.
I’ve lived in Mexico for years, speak fluent Spanish and have Mexican family members, am very familiar with the destruction and sadness caused by cartels, and still say Penn did nothing wrong here. The US War on Drugs has been the main cause of violence in the country; it has increased violence and deaths, not reduced them.
http://www.democracynow.org/2016/1/8/headlines/mexico_life_expectancy_falls_amid_us_backed_drug_war
it was in the news, he was going to interview isis chief, but upon hearing the recapture of chapo after his interview with penn, isis chief inadvertently (cowardly) backed out. ha ha
You know that wasn’t real? It was a joke.
It’s not as simple as it seems. Past governments helped Chapo became what he is now. Then, when the dirty work was done, they got rid of him (captured him).
He lead a cartel, one out of dozens that are currently active. His son is in charge now.
But the real problem is not a drug dealer, the real problem is the government and the military, and all politicians are involved in the drug business. Peña Nieto (the president) has been accused many times by many international sources of making illicit deals, not just with drugs, but all sort of corrupt ´businesses´.
El Chapo has been interviewed before, yes, while being at large. I don’t criticize Penn because I’m sure whatever El Chapo has to say is important information that can show the reality of how he got to where he is and how the government has always been involved.
Penn will dine out on this for the rest of his life now and he’ll become just as unbearable as his ex-wife Madge. The man is a tool of the first degree.
I really hope Ricky Gervais tears him apart at the Golden Globes tonight. I hope he is merciless.
+1
What an idiot. Do all these people have no brain that they thought it would be a good idea to meet up with him while he’s on the run??!! He murdered or is responsible for the murder of hundreds of people!!
And I had to laugh when I read that El Chapo actually said he is just defending himself, he never begins violence. How crazy has one to be to believe that crap? They living in the Middel Age when it comes to brutality and violence, they are f**** monsters.
Actually Penn wins more respect from me because of this, and of course the work he did for Haiti and in New Orleans.
Not the point, but I still think his prison breakout in 2015 was amazing. That’s the stuff of movies like SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, without the redemption.
Totally. The guy sent his tunnel digging team to Germany for a two month training, and it paid off, talk about German precision. They tunneled precisely to right under his shower which happened to be the one camera blind spot in the cell. Of course the entire prison, guards and prisoners. had to be in on it. No way you are drilling a tunnel that big directly beneath folks without their knowledge. I want to hear Morgan Freeman narrate this one.
LAK, off topic but wasn’t the “redemption” that a soulless banker realized he was a bad husband who drove his wife to cheat? He was innocent of the crime but guilty of being a heartless jagoff so he found his humanity in Shawshank? I love that story. Oh but point being that no one claims redemption us possible for someone who is truly evil.
I’m always pulling out Shawshank quotes in daily life. That movie is a classic!
He didn’t scape, the theory has been proved false many times.
He has always said the government let him out, and it’s true. There was no need for him to plan anything, he just paid a bit of money to the right people.
LAK, I agree with you.
Penn should be investigated and so should the actress who assisted in these two meeting. But I have to admit an interview with the biggest drug dealer, while he’s in the run, is pretty extraordinary. How great would similar interviews have been for generations to come with the likes of Billy the Kid or Capone while they were at their pinnacle to be able and get in the psyche to better understand why and what makes them tick.
And they had tanks outside the prison for his arrival. That’s when you know you are dealing with someone on a completely different level then any other criminal.
I think I were Penn, interview time, I’d be quaking in my boots and I seriously doubt he had anything to do with his capture. If he did, he didn’t know it.
Penn should expect some kind of reprisals.
Also passing gas…I died..
Penn is trash and so is Chapo.
This man is responsible for the murders of thousands and a disgrace to the Mexican people–he’ll end up escaping again, he’s too wealthy.
I cannot emphasize how much I loathe both these wastes of human skin, also, Kate Castillo can take a long walk off a short cliff. IF they do make a movie, I truly hope my people boycott, he’s not worth the money.
Maria, I completely agree with you. He’ll manage to escape again. My family is from Mexico and I have spent alot of time there. It’s no secret that these drug lords pay off Mexican authorities. The corruption and bribery is unbelievable!
It makes me sad to see what has been happening in such a wonderful country 😢
Oh, and I’ve always thought Sean Penn is a massive douche, but I can’t help but be disappointed in Kate del Castillo. I really liked her. Sigh.
I actually think that she is worst than Penn, he aproached el Chapo for an interview, she did it for bussiness in the form of a movie.
Supposadly she’s also come out with a brand of tequila just the day after the interview based on another character who was also in the drug cartel.
Just a lot of millionaires trying to find another way to make a dollar off something terrible.
Agree with everything written.
El Chapo is not responsible for that, the government is. Fox, Calderon, Peña, all of them are responsible for the disgrace of all Mexico.
El Chapo is just an employee following orders. All drug dealers are.
Sad bizarre story.
El Chapo isn’t a hero and apparently he was reaching out to people in Hollywood with the intention of someone making a movie about his life and escapes, now how much Sean Penn actually helped investigators or how much he simply played the unwitting fool helping lead them to him I’m not sure but if he wasn’t helping the investigation then I’m done with this man.
So long as people aren’t directly suffering under the individual we love to make movies about them and make them out to be entertainment, meanwhile in Mexico the drug trade has become so vicious and erratic that a newly elected mayor was murdered one day after taking office because she threatened to be harsh on drug crimes.
All I’m saying is investigate the hell out of Sean Penn and every other comfortable Hollywood idiot who probably knew where this man was and kept it quiet. Disgusting.
Investigate then imprison.
Yes this! Let Penn feel what it’s like to be oppressed and watch someone make a movie out of some prisoner who bullied and terrified him. I know that sounds harsh, and while I wouldn’t wish suffering on anyone, it sounds like Penn needs a swift kick of morality.
Well said. We know that movies/stories will glorify and create a fan base for these types of people so ultimately it is a moral question. Personally, I am not interested in learning anything further about this torturer & murderer of children, women and men. Was his escape interesting – not really because all I kept thinking about was all of the victims and how many more people he would kill while out.
Unfortunately it appears that Penn did not break any laws since journalists are not required to assist the police in apprehending fugitives.
Would he be considered a journalist, though? There are aiding and abetting statutes; what he did could be a crime.
If the Justice Dept were still pursuing Guzman and Sean was giving him money or advice on how to escape or otherwise showing overt criminal intent it would be a problem, but I don’t think he is in legal jeopardy for simply speaking to him as either a private citizen or journalist. Of course in the event El Chapo is extradicted to the United States to face drug trafficking charges there could be major run ins with prosecutors if Sean decides he isn’t going to cooperate in the investigation.
I am Mexican, originally from Sonora, about four hours away from where El Chapo is from and operated. My family had to emigrate to the US due to Cartel violence and while I am thankful that was the outcome and I love the United States and it is my home (‘Murica forever!) my home country has been kidnapped by drug cartels. Make no mistake, while soap operas and Netflix original shows, countless of “narco corridos” (songs that glorify the lifestyle) paint a picture of money, power, women and admiration for folks like el Chapo, he is still a criminal, a murderer and a Drug Lord. He has helped countless of people by building schools and hospitals for his native community, of course, part of why he is beloved in some areas, however, that does not cancel out his atrocities. And to be honest, Sean Penn should be ashamed. Befriending him or dictators like Hugo Chavez. Thinking he is so “enlightened” for “understanding” the culture and embracing these monsters. No, you don’t understand the culture nor you understand or know how many crimes el Chapo has committed, or how Chavez oppressed the people of Venezuela. An example, this happened two years ago, cartels would demand from business owners in certain areas a “monthly fee” for “protection”, pretty much extortion, don’t pay, your life becomes a living hell. Well this funeral home owner refused to give in to the pressure, and when the thugs went to his home to collect the money, he refused again. They killed his teenage daughter in front of him for refusing. Sean’s “experience” was crazy, of course it was, and deserves its own movie. But seriously Sean, gtfo.
Wonderfully written, @ OSTONE. And I’m glad you’re happy in America and feel this is your home.
I second this. Thanks for sharing.
Agree. Whatever Sean Penn’s reasons are for doing this interview, for many it gives a blanket approval. Nauseating.
Thank you for your comment. You understand the situation through first hand experience. I’m glad you and your family are safe.
@Ostone, I completely agree with you. Also, not quite sure who the hell Sean Penn really thinks he is at this point. He really believes he has some sort of political power and that he is an expert on politics. Can’t stomach him and haven’t been able to for years now. Him and Madonna should hold hands and run off into obscurity together. Their time is up.
Hollywood loves its demented villains with ‘art’ or ‘hearts of gold’.
Roman Polanski, Woody Allen, El Chapo. Who gives a damn who gets killed so long as their precious darlings are sleeping comfortably in nice safe mansions.
Thank you, OSTONE. That was a great comment. I’m glad you’re here, but I’m sorry for all that you and your family have been through. ❤️
Thank you for this, reading some of these replies and about how fascinating a character he is makes my eyes roll, hard.
By praising Penn for this crap ams calling El Chapo’s story fascinating people are inadvertently glorifying the actions of a terrible human being.
Who cares if there are thousands of dead Mexicans….
SMH.
thank you, Ostone, for coming to America and loving being here. Best wishes to you.
Sean Penn is so gross, disgusting, vile – WRONG. He should be watching out for his comeuppance.
There is more than one valid view about Hugo Chavez, Ostone. People should read around the subject and make up their own minds before necessarily sharing the U.S. Anti- Chavez view. The U.S. Has many things to be proud of, but it’s record in supporting a number of dreadful Central and South American violently repressive regimes isn’t one of them. Sean Penn is pretty much the anti-Christ as far as many regular posters are concerned. The party people indirectly supporting the cartels via their enthusiastic use of the cartels’ products have a responsibility that’s often overlooked. I don’t suppose Sean is entirely innocent in that regard but he has also been a great actor and demonstrated a social conscience. If he has been guilty of spousal violence that is totally unacceptable and destroys his progressive credentials.
Penn is probably too arrogant to worry about blowback from this. But it seems to me that both he and Kate del Castillo are now on El Chapo’s sh*t list. I’d be terrified. This is a guy who has had people murdered for the slightest of offences, so leading the authorities to him, even inadvertantly, would qualify for the death penalty in his world.
Sean Penn lives in a world of movies where the good guy always cheats death at the very last second. I doubt this moron thinks he’s in danger at all. He fancies himself the good guy/hero whom fortune favors.
He hasn’f don’t that yet, but has expressed an interest in doing some of those things and has lauded people who have. So, yeah. He can express away, as long as he is never given the power to act. Let him remain an entertaining circus sideshow and never be commander of the free world.
That’s the thing I don’t understand about reporters – what is the responsibility of reporters towards law enforcement? I know Penn isn’t a reporter but the media has always done interviews with people who are on the run or even taped/interviewed while a crime is being committed. But very rarely do they go to the authorities.
This is just devil’s advocate and not a reflection of my opinion but Hollywood is notorious for glamorizing murderers and drug dealers. All mob movies and even the film “American Gangster” all glorify a life of crime and murder. Why are we surprised that Sean Penn would go to great lengths to interview El Chapo? John Gotti rubbed elbows with celebrities also.
Once again, not my opinion but perhaps we should all consider this sort of thing next time a movie about being a gangster hits theaters and is successful.
I lived in Mexico back in the seventies when it was the loveliest, safest, most welcoming place on earth. Having seen how murderous drug cartels have taken it over has broken my heart. And seeing a$$holes like Penn and Kate glorify a remorseless murderer and drug lord like El Chapo in a publication as moronic as Rolling Stone (I also remember when it was a good magazine) makes me sick. He’ll make a movie glorifying him as some sort of latter day saviour of the Mexican downtrodden and raise him to saint-like veneration.
Way to go Penn you scheming, self-glorifying dickhead. You and Madonna deserve each other.
My family spent a lot of time in Mexico in the 70s and early 80s too: DF, Cuernavaca, Guadalajara as well as the beach towns. Beautiful country, wonderful people, and it is heart breaking what has happened there because of the drug wars.
Coming from Texas I have always loved Mexico, but now I’m so afraid to go there. Not to mention if you go to a resort, the prices are high. If you think any of that goes to the local Mexicans, no way.
It’s no wonder they want to come to the US so they can make a decent wage even if it is below minimum.
Should Sean be worried..
If not of El Chapo, then of the Govt., it’s being reported he’s under investigation for his role in all of this.
I don’t think anything is going to happen to Penn. I was watching the news this morning and the majority of the journalists were saying if they were given the opportunity to interview El Chapo like Penn did they would have done it as well. They also said it was the Mexican gov’t not the US who is doing to investigation and it will probably go no where. Almost certain this will be turned into a movie, hell with Penn probably directing; that’s Hollywood for you.
Smh, damn shame. Damn vultures. It’s more important to get the scoop and make sure your ratings are high than doing the right thing, this is part of the reason reporters are so hated.
I was thinking more of the family of the criminal; his children and friends. It is very easy to pay someone to harm someone else. I would imagine that El Chapo has some associates that will be angry with Sean for this and who may want to garner some kind of good will. Regardless of Sean celebrity. He is being credit with having some part in the capture. These people are vicious. And I wouldn’t put anything pass them.
We don’t know enough of the circumstances to gauge how this is going to affect Sean but I do think if he and Madonna are back together it will work against her efforts to have Rocco returned. At the least Guy is almost certainly going to make that argument to a London court.
Are Madonna and Penn a thing?
I don’t know but David seems to like him. Sean looks more cavalier than I would after putting his fellow actors and producers on this project in mortal danger.
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2016/01/14/fashion/golden-globes-2016-stars-hit-the-after-parties/s/14SCENE-GOLDEN-GLOBES-slide-DLWE.html
yes..but he is probably too arrogant to even think about it.
There’s a movie being made already. No joke. The problem for El Chapo is that he wasn’t getting a cut of it and he wants all the glory, all the time. So he reached out to actors and producers in hopes of producing his own cartel-sanctioned biopic, and then he gets caught. His sense of self importance did him in. Good. Maybe Penn’s will do him in as well. If I were Lee Daniels I’d sure be grinning quite a bit today….
There had to be a lot more people involved in this interview than Penn and the actress. It would have taken a whole crew of people. Sad thing is, this criminal will have a movie made about him and it will draw many people to see it. Sad truth of our
society today.
I find it so humorous when people want to compare Trump to some evil person.
Did anybody actually read the article? I did last night and while it’s long it is worth a read. Not only does Sean go on about how the media demonizes certain figures and he is oh so special because he can separate El Chapo the man from El Chapo the drug lord, but his prose is the most self-serving, pretentious, bombastic piece of writing I’ve read in a long time! Including such gems of Sean taking a pee in the wilderness and looking at his penis fondly… It’s like Rolling Stone has never heard of an editor! It could have been majorly condensed.
You also get a peek into Sean’s legendary temper. Due to raids by the Mexican authorities, he is unable to return to Mexico to see El Chapo to interview him so he settles for a video instead. He pesters Kate del Castillo, harassing her to get him the video and even mentioning “abusing their friendship.” He glosses over thus but he was very obviously being aggressive and bullying her.
I’m surprised Rolling Stone allowed this to be published. Basically giving in to a Hollywood actor’s inflated sense of ego.
Ever since the Jackie story I know Rolling Stone doesn’t have two editors and a nugget of common sense to rub together. They probably thought this would end up being a great win for them with people praising the lengths they’d go to as journalists when so far reaction is negative and extreme.
I wish Sean would just shut up and go back to being an actor and giving great performances. He has done some wonderful roles and is/was a brilliant actor. But he’s looking so bad, I probably wouldn’t even want to see him in a role now. LOL
I do admire the work he’s done in Haiti, or at least caring when others lost interest long ago, but not much else about him, aside from his acting. He’s a pretentious bore.
Rolling Stone probably figured that it would be good clickbait.
I read it also – it is online. Penn is a poor writer – it seems unedited. Very interesting story and they were either extremely stupid or extremely brave to have gone to the meeting with the drug czar. I cannot believe that none of El Chapo’s entourage speaks English. Perhaps they didn’t acknowledge speaking English in front of Penn, but I am sure they are not that unsophisticated.
Did this happen to coincide with when Charlize dumped him?
No. She dumped him earlier last year after they were at Cannes Film Festival together.
Sorry, he should be investigated for? Wasn’t he on assignment for Rolling Stone? In which case, shouldn’t they also have a case to answer? If an actual journalist got this ‘scoop’, would we be calling for an investigation also? Look I get it, Sean Penn may be a great actor but he’s far from a likable human being. He has controversial opinions but at the end of the day, we’re all entitled to think what we think. I read up on some of the stuff he’s done in Haiti and I gotta give him some credit because there, it is most certainly due. Outside of that he doesn’t come across as a nice guy but he’s not exactly evil incarnate the way some people make him out to be.
I agree with you.
Investigated for interviewing a wanted escaped drug lord. I would ABSOLUTELY want anyone who got this “scoop” famous or not to be investigated. Rolling Stone needs to be investigated as well. From what I gather, your logic is as long as you are working for a company it is ok to do something that is morally and legally wrong because the company asks you to?
As a proud Mexican living in Mexico City I have to sadly tell you, El Chapo is the least of our problems right now. Our government is absolutely useless and corrupt and hypocrites whom make business with cartels, violence has increased inmensely and our economy won’t resist much longer.
There is a lot of speculation about this latest Chapo’s capture being a distraction from the worst economic moment Mexico has had in our recent history.
As for this issue with Penn and Kate, I find nauseating that publications like Rolling Stone are glorifying the Narco Culture that is responsible for thousands of deaths across my country.
@Saks-I am so sorry to say that you are of course correct. Mexico is truly suffering from many problems, and I can’t imagine what living with that kind of fear must be like. As an American, I feel the need to apologize for Sean Penn and his disgusting and disrespectful actions.
My heart breaks for the Mexican people because of everything you have mentioned Saks! I really hope Mexico can become a great country again. Sean Penn does not represent the way most Americans behave and believe. I keep seeing people here mentioning other horrible people being interviewed before capture, Osama Bin Laden ect. but why that justifies any of this being ok is beyond me? Just because wrong-doing has occurred before and/or has gone unpunished does not excuse it continuing to happen.
Wow. El Chapped-O interviewed el Chapo whilst he was hiding from EVERYONE FOR BEING EVIL. I can’t stand Sean Penn. He should have been jailed for being himself ages ago. now this f*ckery? A$$hole.
Haha. El Chapped O. I agree. I guess he “tried” on the compassion thing with Haiti, etc, but Penn’s draw to self serving negativity is blaring at this point.
It’s not law enforcement he needs to worry about. El Chapo was found by law enforcement who were following his location by following Sean Penn. There will be a suspicion amongst the cartel that Sean tipped law enforcement off or was working with them from the beginning and there was a purposeful time gap between the interview and the arrest so as not to look suspicious. I don’t think Penns moral enough to do that tbh but they will chase him down if they consider it a possibility. Now that would make a great movie!!
Exactly. Don’t forget this: he was captured on friday and Penn and Rolling Stone published the interview the day after…mmmm….
I heard Mexican media is saying the his phone was bugged, although I’m not sure how much credence to put in any claim with so few facts on the table at this point.
If anything happens to Penn it will occur AFTER he’s made his movie. And he’d better make a great movie because if El Chapo doesn’t approve, Penn’s demise will be painful.
Though chances are, he’ll probably be able to live a very long, drawn out life of megalomania and worshiping, celebrating and embodying Evil.
“Embodying evil”
Hyperbole much?
It looks like Penn and Rolling Stone were patiently waiting to El Chapo being captured to publish the interview right after it happened. The timing is weird, If i were El Chapo I’d be suspicious that Penn, Rolling Stone and the authorities from both mexico and the US would have set me up. It’s clear that Penn knows perfectly that he was being monitored in his movements prior the interview, he acknowledges this himself in the interview. So weird. I’m sorry but I can’t help but thinking that Penn in his desperation of being relevant and some kind of political and cultural figure is messing with really dangerous people. This is not the set of Carlito’s Way and El Chapo is not Al Pacino. Honestly those people are not to mess with. If I were Robin Wright I’d be worried for their children. Not only they’ll surely be mocked by and embarrassed but also their father is being investigated and probably El Chapo is not happy about the timing of this mess. I’d put those kids and all Penn’s loved ones some extra security.
Or witness protection?
Yeah, I also was thinking about the safety of Sean and his kids and the Mexican actress, Kate del Castillo.
Sean penn said he interviewed him in the jungle and he was captured in my hometown soo yeah that interview i dont think it was 7 hours before they captured him cuz they were rumors here that he had been here for like 3 months and i can assure you that my city is nowhere near a jungle 😬🙄
I think that perhaps Penn had some kind of deal with the authorities, as well as with the Rolling Stone that the article would only be published after the capture of El Chapo. Now, they are pushing the story of Penn being in trouble with the authorities to cover up his ass from the cartel’s revenge.
I wouldn’t be messing around with a Mexican drug cartel if I were Sean Penn, that will not end well for him I would be terrified to ever cross them.
This was STUPID of Penn to get mixed with this drug lord in the first place. Now the Mexican government wants to talk to Penn what information did he get from El Chapo. He may be in legal jeopardy in the U.S. Some legal experts have said Penn may not face criminal charges but I have two words for that: BILL COSBY.
I doubt his arrogance will let him see it.
Sean penn is seriously scary looking.
From the post and from a few comments I read, it’s amazing how willfully ignorant people are.
The Mexican Government has been accused of being into drug dealing for decades. The PRI governments initiated it, but the two PAN presidents pretended to look the other way, and helped the Chapo cartel grow because they thought he would help them get rid of the Zetas, who are not only a very cartel wealthy but also very dangerous, as they are formed by military people.
El Chapo didn’t escape, this is all a show. He barely has any power these days, his sons lead the cartel, but other cartels now are bigger and more dangerous.
The Mexican Government, Peña Nieto, is the true mass murderer, the one who no country should receive, the one that should keep being investigated by foreign reporters, and he should be in prison.
There is such a thing as remaining neutral and just getting the story. Amazing that this interview was gettable to begin with.
I am officially sick of Sean Penn and the ways he tries to elevate his profile. Sit down, Sean.