Documentary reveals El Chapo lawyer didn’t trust Sean Penn

In a first look from the point of view of El Chapo’s ‘amigo’ Kate del Castillo it becomes clear why Sean Penn may fear for his life after the release of her three part Netflix series.

The series out Friday, ‘The Day I Met El Chapo,’ del Castillo describes how she began speaking with the dangerous drug king pin, and how it was during the very meeting with him that Penn suddenly sprang an interview on Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman for Rolling Stone magazine.

During an intense meeting, while sitting at the table amongst the then fugitive’s closest associates in the Sinaloa mountains, del Castillo says she, and Guzman, believed they were there to discuss a movie about him, but that Penn sprang a request for an interview on behalf of the magazine.

Guzman’s lawyer, Andres Granados, is featured prominently throughout the Netflix series. He says in on camera interviews that he never trusted Penn and had advised his boss as much. The series argues that the meeting with Guzman, and the conversations leading up to an interview with Rolling Stone- ultimately led to the capture of the cartel lord.

Fateful photo: This was last time the public would see Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman (center) as a free man. Kate del Castillo (right) was preparing to run a film about his life, but Sean Penn (left) had plans for a Rolling Stone interview

Del Castillo says it was during this interview with Rolling Stone that Guzman would admit he was a drug dealer 

Del Castillo says it was during this interview with Rolling Stone that Guzman would admit he was a drug dealer 

The Mexican authorities had del Castillo and Penn under surveillance as soon as they landed in Mexico 

The Mexican authorities had del Castillo and Penn under surveillance as soon as they landed in Mexico 

Granados also says he relayed his concerns to del Castillo: ‘I told her look I don’t really trust gringos especially if they want to meet Mr. Joaquin Guzman.’

It was a week between Guzman agreeing to meet with both Penn and del Castillo and the meeting taking place. 

He was on the run after his latest prison break that had embarrassed the Mexican government. 

Every caution was taken to arrange for the clandestine meeting. Guzman had ensured that del Castillo had a single burner phone to speak with him, and only him on.

Del Castillo shared these amazing images of herself under surveillance at a Mexican airport

Del Castillo shared these amazing images of herself under surveillance at a Mexican airport

Once she boarded the plane with Penn, she texted him they were taking off, and he said they would not speak again till they were in person.

‘At that time he was the most wanted man by two governments, and we were the only people that had a chance of meeting him face to face,’ del Castillo says on camera.  

However when they arrived at the airport in Mexico, the Mexican government had them under surveillance. They were being monitored. 

In amazing images shown in the series, an under surveillance del Castillo and Penn are seen walking through the airport. 

The Mexican National Security ‘were monitoring everything Kate, Sean and Guzman were doing,’ according to an expert in the documentary.  

Del Castillo says Guzman’s lawyer instructed them before leaving the airport on a very long journey to their final destination: ‘He told us to leave behind our phones and everything we had brought.’

‘And we did, expect Sean who had a small suitcase he had brought along.’  

Attorney Granados also says on camera ‘From what I understand Sean Penn hadn’t checked his bags because Mr. Guzman never asked. He simply trusted the people who were coming.’

But after they arrived in Mexico at the airport, they were able to fool the authorities, as ‘El Chapo’s people are professionals in that area,’ according to an expert in the series. 

The cartel had arranged for several different women who were used as decoys for del Castillo to throw anyone following them off- sent out in cars in different directions. 

She and 

She and 

Del Castillo explains she thought if Penn was to help her bring her film about Guzman to Hollywood, it was important that he meet the cartel leader as well. 

She thought to herself about the meeting ‘It could change our lives or end our lives.’

After being whisked away by cars followed by security they would be brought to a cleared field with two Cessnas where they would board one of them, piloted by one of El Chapo’s son. 

Once they had arrived at the meeting location, under the cloak of darkness, Guzman gave her a hug, and said ‘Welcome my friend.’

She says once they were sitting at the table, with his son and his close associates Penn’s intentions for a Rolling Stone interview became suddenly clear, and Guzman grew agitated.  

‘No one ever told me, or Sean never told me he wanted to do an interview for a magazine.’

Her own lawyer speaking on camera in the documentary says: ‘I believe she was duped by Sean Penn this could have resulted in her being killed.’

Then Penn, according to del Castillo, started to grow more ambitious asking her to translate to Guzman if he can stay a few days to interview him. When the drug lord gets irritated, an aggressive Penn asks if it would work if he come back and interview with him in eight days.

Del Castillo says she translated forr Guzman who told her: ‘He says he will only see you with me,’ that second meeting never happened.

Instead however, after the meeting, Penn with the backing of Rolling Stone, later asks Guzman for an interview on video, again via del Castillo.

He eventually obliges to that request.

It is in that video that Guzman is speaking to the camera about the cartels, about being on the run, and as del Castillo says ‘and for the first time admitting that he was a drug dealer.’

In the video, Guzman says ‘The day I no longer exist drug trafficking will not decrease in any way,’ he also makes sure to begin it with that this video is exclusive to Kate del Castillo and Sean Penn.

Experts in the documentary say the biggest mistake was Guzman recording that video, and ‘staying in touch with them after he had shared his table.’

After he was captured in 2015, the governor of Sinaloa, Mario Lopez Valdez, gave a press conference saying it was a meeting with an actress and producers that allowed them to finally capture Guzman.  

Her attorney Harland Braun says it would be easy for someone in the cartel to think she set him up.

‘It put us all at risk, saying it was out fault, or because of us,’ she says on camera.

Once he was captured, whatever there was between Penn and del Castillo ended when she stormed out a restaurant upon reading a draft of Penn’s Rolling Stone article about El Chapo, and she says she hasn’t seen the actor since. 

She says in the film that the article wrongly makes it seem like she was infatuated with him and claims El Chapo even sent her flowers, which never happened.

Penn showed her the final draft at the famous Sunset Towers hotel in Hollywood, at a table of famous people. 

She stormed out and never saw Penn again.

Meanwhile Penn and his team have tried repeatedly tried to block the documentary from going forward.

Penn’s team last week fired off a letter to Netflix to pull the film saying ‘that blood will be on their hands if this film causes bodily harm,’ to their client, according to the New York Times. 

Penn is particularly concerned that the documentary, in which he does not appear, implies that it was he who helped authorities at the Department of Justice in their capture of El Chapo.

 

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