A Mexican actress's tweet kick-started talks with 'El Chapo'
Without her help, Sean Penn says he never could have arranged a secret meeting with cartel kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.
And it all started with a tweet, the actor claims in a Rolling Stone article he wrote about the encounter.
Kate
del Castillo, an outspoken Mexican and American actress who cemented
her fame with portrayals of crime bosses on television, posted a message
online four years ago.
"Today
I believe more in El Chapo Guzman than in the governments that hide the
truth from me even though it is painful," del Castillo said in a
message linked to her Twitter account in 2012.
Guzman should consider using his influence for the good of Mexico, she wrote.
In an interview last year, del Castillo told CNN en Español that her message was a criticism of Mexican political leaders rather than a compliment to Guzman.
"Someone
like that, at least we know who he is, we know what he does, we know
what his profession is. The others sometimes are worse criminals, and
have numbed us, and hide everything from us," she said.
The
online post, which called for Guzman to "traffic in love," sparked
controversy in Mexico over the actress's perceived support of the drug
lord.
Apparently, her comments also caught the attention of Guzman himself.
In Penn's article, published Saturday, he says that the Sinaloa cartel chief sent del Castillo flowers to thank for her online post though the bouquet never reached her.
"It
perhaps should have come as no surprise that this homegrown icon of
entertainment would catch the interest of a singular fan and fugitive
from Sinaloa," Penn wrote.
According
to Penn, once El Chapo was arrested in 2014, Hollywood types reached out
to the imprisoned cartel boss. But he decided that he wanted to
collaborate with del Castillo, and he began corresponding with her
through handwritten letters and BlackBerry messages.
Playing a crime boss on TV
El
Chapo's communication with del Castillo continued even after his
escape, Penn wrote, and that sparked the conversations that led to their
meeting.
Del Castillo, 43, starred as
a drug trafficker in Telemundo's popular prime-time soap opera "La
Reina del Sur" ("The Queen of the South") and also played Mexican crime
boss Pilar Zuazo on the Showtime series "Weeds." More recently, she's
appeared on the American comedy "Jane the Virgin" and in last year's
film about the Chilean miners, "The 33."
Guzman,
who is accused of running a major network that distributes cocaine and
heroin, has been indicted by U.S. authorities in Chicago, New York and
Los Angeles. In 2004, the U.S. government announced a $5 million reward
for information leading to his arrest and conviction.
He
is worth about $1 billion, according to Forbes magazine, which began
listing the drug kingpin on its billionaires list in 2009. (He was dropped from the list in 2013 because "his whereabouts are unknown" and financial information couldn't be verified.)
'Wouldn't it be cool ...'
Del Castillo's online post addresses the drug lord directly:
"Mr.
Chapo: Wouldn't it be cool if you started to traffic in goodness? With
cures for diseases, with food for children in the street, with alcohol
for nursing homes. ... trafficking with corrupt politicians instead of
with women and children that end up as slaves? With burning all the
pimps that treat a woman like she's worth no more than a pack of
cigarettes?" she wrote. "With no supply there is no demand. Do it, sir,
and you would be the hero of heroes. Let's traffic with love. You know
how."
The post sparked debate in Mexico and beyond the nation's borders.
After Guzman escaped from a maximum-security prison in Mexico in July, del Castillo told CNN en Español she was dumbfounded.
"I'm
Mexican, and I get angry when, in the United States, people say bad
things about Mexico, and I defend Mexico," she said. "But the moment
comes when you can't defend that which is indefensible."
Del
Castillo has remained silent so far on the Rolling Stone article,
Guzman's arrest and her role in brokering the secret meeting in Mexico.
She usually doesn't hesitate to give her opinion on social media. In September, del Castillo became an American citizen. She tweeted a photo of herself at the naturalization ceremony,
with a message to Donald Trump, letting the presidential candidate know
that there was now one more American who doesn't support him.
And Also
- Sean Penn says Kate del Castillo brokered his meeting with El Chapo
- Actress in 2012: "I believe more in El Chapo Guzman than in governments that hide the truth"
- Del Castillo played a crime boss on "Weeds" and a Spanish-language soap opera
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