Will Sean Penn face legal issues due to secret meeting with Mexican drug lord El Chapo?

On Friday, Mexican authorities closed in and arrested once again feared Mexican drug lord, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman. The arrest was made more than two months after Hollywood actor Sean Penn sat down for a secret meeting with the leader of the Sinaloa Cartel.

Guzman has been the center of an international manhunt carried out by both the Mexican and U.S. law enforcement agencies after he escaped from the Altiplano jail in South America in July of last year, BBC reported. According to the news site, he broke free from the maximum-security prison by using a tunnel he dug under his cell.

Then, in October, Penn travelled to the Mexican jungle for a seven hour meeting with Guzman. The interview was arranged by Mexican actress, Kate del Castillo, and was detailed in an article written by Penn for the Rolling Stone.

According to the write up, Guzman admitted that his organization provides the world's supply of marijuana, heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine. However, he denied that he is responsible for the increasing number of drug additions in different parts of the globe.

Following the arrest of Guzman and the publication of Penn's article, the U.S. government and other officials criticized the actor's interaction with the wanted criminal and his involvement in the case. After all, months before he was captured, Penn already knew the whereabouts of Guzman but did not coordinate with authorities who were looking for him. However, it is not yet clear if Mexican law enforcers would want to question Penn and del Castillo regarding their connections to Guzman.

But, according to Rikki Klieman, a legal analyst forCBS News, Penn can be considered as a journalist when he carried out the interview with the criminal. As a journalist, he is not required to divulge details of their meeting to U.S. or Mexican authorities. In other words, the analyst believes the actor will not face any legal troubles for what he did back in October.

Currently, Guzman is being held in the same prison facility he escaped from last year. He is expected to be extradited to the U.S. to face the other charges filed against him.

Tags

Sean Penn Interview, Joaquin Guzman Interview, El Chapo Interview, El Chapo Arrest, Sean Penn El Chapo, Mexican Drug Cartel, Rolling Stone Article

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