Recently, the famous drug lord, El Chapo, was captured in Mexico after his escape from prison. The search had been going on for months, and due to his ego and need to become more famous than he already was, the Mexican police finally ended his long run. The more interesting news that has surfaced of El Chapo, is his interview in Rolling Stone magazine. Actor, Sean Penn, secretly traveled to Mexico and met El Chapo to interview him about the world and drugs, his use of violence, and how drugs has impacted his life. Shockingly, Penn pulled it off and made it out alive with the interview of a lifetime. But what El Chapo said did catch my attention and, hopefully, the attention of others.
Penn asked a multitude of questions -- where he came from and how he came into the business of being a drug lord. El Chapo answered by saying he came from a small city, was raised on a ranch, but “in that area, and up until today, there are no job opportunities.” Due to this situation, he had to start selling drugs and maintain this business to support himself and his family. I mean, wow! I was truly not expecting that answer. I was sort of hoping for a more -- drug lord-y answer. Unfortunately, El Chapo brings up an issue happening everywhere, and he is the living proof of what can happen to a person in a poverty stricken area with no government support or support groups to assist the people in that community.
Am I feeling sorry for El Chapo, and all that he has had to power through and strive to be the man he is today? No, not even one bit. But I am concerned with the issue he has presented. El Chapo at least has the chutzpah to say something like this publicly. Half of the politicians -- who are the ones who should be adding this to their platforms or mentioning this is their half-assed campaign speeches -- dance around the issue of drug use and poverty. Chris Christie defined drug addiction as a mental illness in a previous campaign speech. In some sense? Maybe. But there is a bigger issue at large. It is that the poverty and lack of jobs are the catalysts to spark the drug frenzy and multi-billion dollar business of trafficking drugs in and out of the country. Currently, the United States has about a 15 percent poverty rate for all people. This is the highest it has been since 1993.
This is not a political article; this is not an article wanting to end all drug use -- this is an article outlining that El Chapo, a world famous drug lord had more to say in a two minute interview than half of the people, politicians, or advocates speaking for the American people.
