Penn said he believed prior to the meeting his movements were likely being tracked by Mexican and United States authorities, and a Mexican federal official told AFP on condition of anonymity that the meeting had helped lead to Guzman’s recapture.
Advertisement
In it, Penn put on his best Hunter S. Thompson impression and describes the secretive lengths he went to meet with El Chapo through a list of contacts including Mexican actress Kate del Castillo who had managed to build a Blackberry Messenger relationship with the drug lord.
There were immediately calls for his quick extradition, just as there were after the February 2014 capture of Guzman, who faces drug-trafficking charges in several US states.
In the article, Guzman said he was the world’s largest supplier of heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana.
“I have a fleet of submarines, airplanes, trucks and boats”, Guzman told Penn.
Rolling Stone disclosed that although he did not make any changes, Guzmán was allowed to view the piece before it was published and provide feedback.
It’s unclear if those contacts involved Penn, a two-time Academy Award victor who followed up the seven-hour jungle interview on phone and video.
No detail was given about the time frame for an extradition but experts say the process could take months.
Guzman had agreed to a two-day interview after the October meeting, Penn wrote, but opted to send a video response to questions instead over security concerns.
“They pulled back. All of sudden they were anxious about the security of El Chapo”, Fonseca says.
The drug lord, who had been at large after escaping jail July a year ago, could be extradited as soon as mid 2016, a source close to the situation told Reuters Saturday.
Mexican army soldiers escort drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman to a helicopter to be transported to a maximum security prison in Mexico City on Friday.
Attorney General Arely Gomez also said on Friday that “discovering Guzman’s intention to have a biographic film made” was an important part of his recapture.
Asked by Penn if he felt responsible for the high levels of drug addiction in the world, Guzman responded: “No, that is false, because the day I don’t exist, it’s not going to decrease in any way at all”.
Juan Masini, former U.S. Department of Justice attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico, predicted that the authorities could face a long war of legal attrition.
The infamous “El Chapo” could be sent to the U.S.to face trial where he is wanted for smuggling vast amounts of drugs into the country.
After his first capture in Guatemala in June 1993, Guzman was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Beith says Guzman doesn’t like the star aspect of being a top drug lord, unlike the late Colombian drug kingpin Pablo Escobar.
He expressed hope he would die of natural causes, said his relationship with his mother was one of “respect, affection and love”, and claimed he was living life with “lots of happiness” since humiliating Mexican authorities by breaking out of his prison cell.
President Enrique Pena Nieto announced Guzman’s arrest on Twitter, saying: “Mission completed: we have him”. They aborted their raid at the time because he was with two women and child.
Advertisement
“No, I think that if they find me they will arrest me”.
