Kate del Castillo

Drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman was eager to set up a face-to-face meeting with Mexican actress Kate del Castillo, and had apparently never heard of Sean Penn, according to transcripts of over a month of text messages exchanged between the two.

The transcripts published Wednesday by the newspaper Milenio — and confirmed as authentic by a federal official — showed that Guzman’s was less interested in making a movie about his life than he was in flirting with the actress.

“What’s that actor’s name?” the account identified as Guzman’s writes in one message to Del Castillo. He later asks his lawyers to tell him what movies Penn has appeared in. Even when Guzman dedicated a video statement as an exclusive for Del Castillo and Penn, the drug lord stumbles over Penn’s first name, pronouncing it “SAY-ahn.”

Penn has acknowledged that he tagged along for the controversial Oct. 2 meeting at a mountain hideout originally set up by Del Castillo.

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.

“I’ll tell you, I am more excited about you than the (movie) script,” Guzman wrote to Del Castillo.

Another text from the drug lord reads: “How is the best and most intelligent woman in the world, who I admire a lot?” At one point, Guzman — who is reportedly married to former beauty queen Emma Coronel, and has had children with her and several other women — writes “My mother wants to meet you. I told her about you.”

Del Castillo responds in kind. “Apart from our (movie) project, I am very excited about seeing you eye to eye, in person,” she wrote, adding later “we will embrace each other soon!“ On Wednesday, Del castillo tweeted: “Not surprisingly, many have chosen to make up items they think will make good stories and that aren’t truthful. I look forward to sharing my story with you,” she wrote.

Kate del Castillo

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