Drug lord flirted with Mexican actress, cared less for movie

Miss Del Castillo texted one of the drug lord’s representatives to say she wanted to bring Mr Penn to a meeting, and Guzman purportedly texted back that he was having to look up the actor on the internet.

The company quickly took advantage of the marketing opportunity, posting the “El Chapo” photo next to a photo of a model wearing the same shirt, with the words “Most Wanted Shirt” stamped underneath.

The newspaper Milenio published yesterday phone text messages between Guzman and Del Castillo that were intercepted by the authorities between October and November.

“I’m not a drinker but your presence is going to be something handsome. You ll know my story when we have time to speak, but for some reason I feel safe and I know you know who I am, not as an actress or public figure, but as a woman, as a person”. I want to get to know you and become very good friends.

The federal official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he or she was not authorized to be quoted by name, said the dozens of texts were authentic.

Guzman’s ties with del Castillo began publicly in 2012 when the actress, who has fronted campaigns for L’Oreal and Ford, wrote an open letter calling on the capo to “traffic in goodness” and saying she believed more in him than the government.

Del Castillo came into contact with Guzmán in 2012, after she declared support for him on social media, and wrote, “Today I believe more in Chapo Guzmán than in governments”.

“I want you with all my heart”, he wrote. I m very excited about our story…. “It’s all I think about”.

On October 24, El Chapo messages the actress in the morning to wish her happy birthday.

“What a nice birthday gift!”

Officials said Tuesday that Guzman s “almost obsessive” desire to see Del Castillo again contributed to his recapture last Friday in Los Mochis, a seaside city in his northwestern home state of Sinaloa. “He has 18 children, he’s married to a woman 30 years younger than him”, said Alejandro Hope, a security analyst in Mexico City. Del Castillo is on the rise in Hollywood securing guest-starring roles in shows like “Jane The Virgin”, “Weeds” and “CSI: Miami” as well as starring in films like “The 33”, “Without Men” and “No Good Deed”.

Six months ago, he staged a prison break that involved his gang obtaining plans to the prison and spending 17 months building a mile-long tunnel with a tiny rail system mounted with a motorbike.

Analysts said factors likely to weigh in the decision of where to try Guzman are the location of cooperating witnesses, which district has the strongest case, which indictment might result in the most severe penalty and where were the most serious of the alleged crimes committed.

And there was another caveat: in one message, the account identified as Del Castillo’s mentions a US lawyer who she said had offered to handle Guzman’s affairs – presumably related to the movie project. “If Sean Penn did nothing more than visit and report, he is protected by the First Amendment, and is in the clear”.

Officials said Penn’s covert interview was an essential step in tracking El Chapo down.