Sean Penn Should be in Jail, Says DEA Agent Who Hunted El Chapo (AFP/Getty Images)
By Newsmax staff | Thursday, 07 February 2019 01:29 PM
"Sean Penn should be in jail" says the DEA agent who was instrumental in the capture of Mexican drug lord known as El Chapo.
Jack Riley, the former No. 2 at the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, tells the New York Post that he blames Penn for El Chapo being on the loose for an additional year.
"Oh, my God! If I could get my hands on Sean Penn," says Riley. "The people he put at risk. He should be in jail."
Riley's rage is over an incident on Oct. 2, 2015, when Mexican marines were finally closing in on El Chapo at his hilltop compound in La Tuna.
Just when the marines were ready to move in, two people suddenly arrived at the compound: Penn and Mexican soap opera actress Kate del Castillo. Fearing the celebrities would be caught in the crossfire, the marines were ordered to stand down until they left.
Penn ostensibly was there to speak to Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman about making a film of his life.
After Penn left, the military decided to go in by helicopter instead of on foot and the element of surprise was lost. El Chapo escaped again.
Riley wanted to prosecute Penn and del Castillo for obstruction of justice, but higher-ups said no.
Riley redoubled his efforts to get El Chapo after that, "and if Sean Penn was up there again, to hell with him. Nothing was going to stop us," he told the Post.
Nothing did, and Guzman was arrested in 2016 and is on trial in Manhattan.