James R | On 02, Mar 2019

Rolling Stone will present a new documentary on El Chapo for Facebook Watch this month.

USA v. Chapo: The Drug War Goes on Trial is a five-part series that charts the rise and fall of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Loera, the famous criminal who is currently facing life in prison.

Directed by Bernardo Ruiz of Jigsaw Productions, the series starts from the beginnings of El Chapo’s empire, before going on to his recent trial, covering the multiple prison escapes along the way. The trial saw a New York jury deliver 10 guilty verdicts against the former cartel leader. The show will also cover the infamous interview in 2016 that Sean Penn carried out with the narcotics kingpin.

Thanks to that and the trial, El Chapo is no stranger to our screens, or newspaper headlines, but Ruiz aims to provide something different to the coverage we’ve already seen.

“While dozens of outlets have covered the day-to-day of the trial, USA v. Chapo takes a step back to tell the behind-the-scenes story of what led to one of the biggest narcotics trials in U.S. history,” he said in a statement. “The series focuses as much on the political and economic context that gave birth to Chapo, as it does on how he became such a notorious figure. And while many outlets have further inflated the Chapo myth, we interrogate that myth, asking if the focus on one person has served to distract from the more serious problems of the drug war.”

“Since the publication of ‘El Chapo Speaks’ in Rolling Stone in early 2016, the saga of El Chapo has continued to evolve and capture the attention of a huge audience,” commented Gus Wenner, president of Rolling Stone. “We’re thrilled to be partnering with Jigsaw Productions to bring this amazing story to life in a new way on Facebook Watch.”

Rolling Stone will premiere the series on Facebook Watch on Monday 11th March, with new episodes arriving every Monday following its premiere.

The series joins a wave of star-studded releases on Facebook Watch, as the social network looks to step up its video platform’s profile. Other titles include Human Discoveries, a recently commissioned animated series starring Anna Kendrick and Zac Efron, Queen America, featuring Catherine Zeta-Jones and Will Smith’s Bucket List.

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