White House Official 'Appalled' by El Chapo's Rolling Stone Interview
A top aide in the Obama Administration said he was "appalled" by the comments made by infamous Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzmán during his Rolling Stone interview with actor Sean Penn.
In the interview, El Chapo bragged about reigning over the Sinaloa cartel, a multibillion-dollar global drug empire that has supplied much of the marijuana, cocaine and heroin sold in the streets of the U.S. According to the drug lord, he "supplies more heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana than anybody else in the world."
In response, White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough told ABC's "This Week" host George Stephanopoulos that he "was appalled by his bragging to the interviewers in Rolling Stone that he moves more heroin than anyone in the world."
McDonough also described the remarks made by the drug kingpin as "maddening" during an interview with Jake Tapper on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday.
"And one thing I will tell you is that this braggadocio's action about how much heroin he sends around the world, including to the United States, is maddening," McDonough said of Guzmán. "We see a heroin epidemic, opioid addiction epidemic in this country. So, we're going to stay on top of this, with our Mexican counterparts, until we get that back in the box."
El Chapo spent over a year behind bars before he escaped from the Altiplano maximum-security prison in Mexico in July 2015, his second successful prison break.
After his escape, Guzmán spent six months on the lam, until he was taken into custody at his secret home in the Mexican city of Los Mochis early Friday morning. Officials were able to find Guzmán by tracking his communications with Hollywood producers and actors, including Penn, who was also apparently meeting with the drug lord to discuss making a biopic, reports The Associated Press.
"Another important aspect that allowed us to pinpoint his location was having discovered Guzmán Loera's intention to film a biographical movie through establishing communication with actors and producers, which formed a new line of investigation," Mexican Attorney General Arely Gomez said, according to CNN.
Mexican officials then announced Saturday that Guzmán would be extradited to the U.S. to face drug trafficking charges connected to the Sinaloa cartel.
"Since Guzmán Loera has been recaptured, the beginning of the extradition proceedings should begin," the attorney general's office said in statement.
U.S. officials have been pushing for Guzmán to be extradited to New York to face a 21-count indictment in the Eastern District of New York located in Brooklyn, reports the New York Daily News. However, experts warn that the process of prosecuting Guzmán will be long, as he is expected to battle extradition in the courts.
Subscribe to Latin Post!
Sign up for our free newsletter for the Latest coverage!