The drug lord Joaquin Guzman Loera was secretly interviewed by actor and director Sean Penn in the Mexican jungle months before his recent capture following a daring escape from prison through an underground tunnel, according to Rolling Stone Magazine.
The cartel boss known as “El Chapo” was recaptured Friday in his home state of Sinaloa.
He had been on the run since his second escape from jail on July 11.
The New York Times reported that in the interview, which was to be published online tonight, Guzman boasts of trafficking more illegal drugs than anyone in the world and talks about his most recent prison escape.
Mexican authorities — who are considering extraditing Guzman to the U.S., where he is the subject of two arrest warrants with another reportedly being prepared — said Guzman had contacts with Hollywood figures interested in producing a film about him.
It’s unclear if those contacts involved Penn, a two-time Academy Award winner who followed up the seven-hour jungle interview on phone and video.
At one point Penn asked Guzman about Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who had, according to some reports, been the subject of a $100 million bounty offered by Guzman after the outspoken billionaire made comments regarding Mexican immigrants who sneak into the U.S.
“Ah. Mi amigo,” Guzman reportedly replied.
