Drama about drugs kingpin 'El Chapo' in development: media

[LOS ANGELES] The life of Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman is to be turned into a drama series by the showrunner of Netflix hit drama "Narcos," reports said on Tuesday.

"#Cartel," which is being developed by cable channel History, will chart the emergence of the drug gangs who use social media to promote their brand, Variety magazine said.

"The true story of El Chapo, fraught with murder, drugs, corruption and celebrity, has been and continues to be one of the most disturbing and fascinating of the past decade," History chief Jana Bennett told the entertainment weekly.

It is familiar ground for Chris Brancato, co-creator of the "Narcos," a crime thriller series on Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar.

"#Cartel" will be a "metaphor for the lives we present on the Internet... and the risks of not-so-humble-bragging on social media," he said.

Mr Guzman was captured in January after months on the run in a colorful episode involving a Mexican soap opera actress and US film star Sean Penn, who met with the drug boss in hiding.

Mr Guzman had escaped through a hole in his jail cell's shower in July last year, in a drama that embarrassed the government.

He faces two extradition demands by courts in California and Texas, for homicide and drug trafficking, in a process expected to take at least a year.

AFP