National Border Patrol Council Slams Sean Penn’s Publicity Stunt with El Chapo

Actor Sean Penn’s apparent effort to secure a multi-million dollar role in any future movie about Mexican cartel drug lord and mass murderer Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Loera has led to the National Border Patrol Council (NBPC) denouncing the publicity stunt as the actor celebrating, capitalizing on, and putting border law enforcement in further danger.

Penn attempted to secretly meet with then-fugitive El Chapo in Mexico, though his efforts to protect the mass murderer from authorities actually ended up leading the Mexican military straight to the cartel leader. Rolling Stone then published Penn’s account–an account which largely attempted to glorify the brutal drug lord behind the circumstances that led to the deaths of up to 125,000 people in Mexico.

In addition to the dead, the unknown numbers of “disappeared,” the countless family members who will never know what happened to their loved ones, and the tens of dead journalists who attempted to expose cartels and the corruption in Mexico, El Chapo’s Sinaloa cartel and their affiliated groups have been behind the loads of drugs, illegal immigrants, and trafficked human beings that have illicitly crossed the U.S.-Mexico border. Many of the Border Patrol agents who have been attacked, injured, or killed were victims of smugglers connected to the Sinaloa cartel’s drugs–El Chapo’s cartel.

Vice President and Spokesperson for the NBPC Shawn Moran, also a U.S. Border Patrol Agent, told Breitbart Texas, “It is good that the Mexican military has recaptured this dangerous man. Everyday our agents see first hand the ruthlessness, and violent acts these cartels are responsible for. These organizations are violent, sophisticated, and committed to one thing:  getting dangerous drugs into our communities.”

Agent Moran continued, “It is unacceptable that he was able to escape a maximum security prison by digging an elaborate 1 mile long tunnel to the outside. If the Mexican government is unwilling or unable to  keep this man behind bars, Congress should utilize the hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars we send to Mexico to enhance our border security to include more agents,  better equipment, infrastructure and training.”

When asked specifically about Sean Penn’s visit with El Chapo and his effort to protect the cartel leader, Agent Moran stated, “Sean Penn and others who would celebrate this man or capitalize on his situation only further put law enforcement on both sides of the border in danger.”

The NBPC is the union representing nearly 17,000 U.S. Border Patrol agents.

Follow Breitbart Texas Managing Director Brandon Darby on Twitter: @brandondarby

Breitbart Texas previously sponsored the Green Line, a podcast by the NBPC, and other efforts to help Border Patrol agents inform the public about issues faced by law enforcement personnel on the nation’s borders. Breitbart Texas also donated funds to cover the funeral costs of a slain agent.