Sean Penn defends interview with Mexican drug lord

Mexico’s government has notified recaptured drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman that he is wanted in the United States, formally beginning extradition proceedings against him.

Asked about the images Monday, Penn would only say: “I’ve got nothin’ to hide”.

Penn wrote in a Rolling Stone article published Saturday that he had received a “credible tip” that the US Drug Enforcement Administration “had indeed become aware of our journey to Mexico”.

Penn did not respond directly to questions on whether it was appropriate for him to submit his story to Guzman for approval in advance of publication, or whether he took adequate information and operational security measures to protect his source.

The newspaper also published several other pictures that allegedly show Penn meeting with Guzman’s people.

One of the two small planes they boarded is pictured, apparently heading toward Guzman’s hideout in northwestern Mexico. They were apparently already following del Castillo based on contacts with Guzman lawyers.

One photo, apparently taken from a distance, shows a man resembling Penn and a woman, identified as Del Castillo, arriving at the airport in the western city of Guadalajara on October 2. Del Castillo has not commented, but Penn wrote in Rolling Stone that Guzman was interested in having a movie made of his life and wanted del Castillo, who had portrayed a drug trafficker in a Mexican television series, involved in the project.

A Mexican official told CNN the pictures are legitimate and were taken by Mexican intelligence teams.

Guzman is now back in the same maximum-security prison he escaped from in July past year. Some of the soldiers are riding in armored personnel carriers.

Guzman’s lawyer, Juan Pablo Badillo, has vowed to appeal to the Supreme Court if necessary.

Badillo said that his client shouldn’t be extradited to the US because “our country must respect national sovereignty, the sovereignty of its institutions to impart justice”.