Shawn and Sam Esteghbal, the Iranian brothers behind the Barabas boutique in Los Angeles, said they made a decision to use the drug lord in their advertising after he was photographed wearing one of their shirts in Rolling Stone photographs of El Chapo’s meeting with actor Sean Penn prior to his being recaptured.
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Penn has been drawn into a controversy over whether he may have assisted in the recapture effort, or, conversely, may have prolonged the search by keeping silent until the article was published last week. “We all want them – the killings in Chicago to stop”, Penn added.
“We are the consumer”.
“When you get the story that every journalist in the world wanted, there’s a lot of green-eyed monsters”, said Penn, who believes Guzman gave him access because he is not a professional journalist.
News reports from Mexico said that after his recapture, Mexican authorities served Guzman with copies of two outstanding USA extradition requests. Whether you agree with Sean Penn or not, there is a complicity there. And how much time have they spent in the last week since this article come [sic] out, talking about that? “One percent? I think that’d be generous”.
He blasted critics who have dismissed him as “not a journalist”.
“I have a regret that the entire discussion about this article ignores its goal, which was to try to contribute to this discussion about the policy in the war on drugs”, Penn said.
Penn called it a “myth” that his trip helped the authorities.
CNN aired nearly 30 seconds of the purportedly hour-long video, which shows authorities exchanging gunfire with El Chapo’s soldiers before launching grenades into the house.
Penn was able to interview the Mexican drug lord through an actress.
The visit occurred in early October, roughly two weeks before El Chapo reportedly narrowly escape a raid by Mexican marines.
But public attention has instead focused on how Penn found and met Guzman in October when Mexican officials could not track him down. We’re not smarter than DEA or the Mexican intelligence.
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Guzman’s extradition to face charges in the United States was discussed on Tuesday at a meeting in Miami between Arely Gomez, Mexico’s attorney general, and Justice officials, said the spokesman, who requested anonymity.
