El Chapo smitten by Mexican star
MEXICO CITY—Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman fawned over the “beautiful” actress Kate del Castillo, while she confessed her “dream” of meeting him in leaked text messages filled with warm exchanges.
The chats, published by the newspaper Milenio on Wednesday, took place before and after Guzman, Del Castillo and US actor Sean Penn sat down for a now notorious meeting in the Mexican jungle in October.
The messages provide an insight into the relationship between the druglord and the actress, who brokered the meeting between Guzman and Penn.
In the messages intercepted by Mexican authorities, the pair discuss meeting over tequila and champagne.
“I’ll take care of you. You’ll see when you come,” said Guzman, who went by the name “Papa” in the messages. “You’re so beautiful, my friend, in every aspect.
Del Castillo, whose chat name was “Beauty,” answered: “I must confess that I feel protected for the first time. 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.”
Guzman, who is married to a former beauty queen and has twin daughters with her and more children with other women, told Del Castillo his mother wanted to meet her.
Two government officials told the Agence France-Presse (AFP) that the text messages leaked to Milenio were authentic.
Officials said on Tuesday that Guzman’s “almost obsessive” desire to see Del Castillo contributed to his recapture on Friday in Los Mochis, a seaside city in his northwestern home state of Sinaloa.