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Drug lord Guzman closer to USA trial as Mexico starts extradition process

Dramatic footage shows the moment Mexican Marines stormed fugitive drug lord El Chapo’s compound.

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“He’s under no obligation to inform the authorities that he’s been in touch with El Chapo”, said Robert Weisberg, a professor at Stanford Law School, told the Times.

Grenades tossed inside explode. Beside a ground floor bedroom littered with clothing, marines entered a walk-in closet and found an unusual panel behind a mirror. Another body is slumped in a bathroom. During the raid, five of Guzmán’s associates were killed and one of the marines was injured.

Amid the chaos, the two-time prison escapee managed to flee one more time – stealing himself out of the house through a secret passageway before dropping into a manhole emerging through a maze od drains into the streets of Los Mochis.

While Guzman could face U.S. justice, Mexican authorities said they wanted to question Penn over his October meeting with the then-fugitive. That’s when Penn learned of the “El Chapo” movie project but had no involvement in its dealings.

Guzman evaded authorities then, but was finally captured after the shootout on Saturday.

He wrote that he was flown aboard a small plane that had a device that jams radar. Sean teamed up with actress Kate del Castillo, 43, to conduct the interview.

The newspaper El Universal published pictures on Monday showing the two actors arriving at the airport in the western city of Guadalajara on October 2.

In an article for Rolling Stone, Penn details the seven-hour meeting that was facilitated by Mexican actress Kate del Castillo, whom El Chapo wanted to be involved in the film. The actor says he has “nothing to hide” after the Mexican government has confirmed they are investigating the celebrity for his interaction with the criminal.

The Associated Press news agency asked Mr Penn if he was anxious about images that claimed to show Mexican officials watching him before the visit. He shrugged off a suggestion that he was “taking hits” for agreeing to submit his article to Guzman prior to publication by Rolling Stone. More broadly, the government has continued to use the military to go after drug kingpins, and favors building up federal and state police at the expense of credible local police forces-an approach that weakens engagement and accountability.

“I haven’t read it yet; I definitely plan to”, said Damon, according to Variety.

The White House said Guzman’s boast about his trafficking exploits “is maddening”.

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Del Castillo had accompanied Hollywood star Sean Penn to a secret meeting with Guzman at an undisclosed location in Mexico late previous year, which the government says unwittingly helped lead to his capture.

Image credit Rolling Stone