After escaping from prison, according to the New York Post, El Chapo got the idea of creating a movie about his life. Similar to Pablo Escobar before him, his exploits were marred by both fact and fiction. The kingpin approached Mexican actor Kate del Castillo about the film. Castillo was in contact with Sean Penn and helped arrange a meeting between the three of them at Chapo's secret Mexican hideout.
According to Rolling Stone, Penn described his own paranoia at meeting the kingpin. "My speculation goes audio. I hear chain saws. I feel splatter. I am Sean's dubitable paranoia," he said. Chapo and his family greeted Penn and even shared a drink together after the actor traveled all day to meet him. Chapo agreed to an interview with Penn as well, but wanted Penn to return in eight days for a full sit-down. However, things got tense as Chapo and his men donned battle garb for an unknown reason to Penn. The two concluded their chat and Penn went to bed.
What Penn didn't know was the U.S. Marines planned to raid the compound that weekend. The only thing to stop them? An approaching storm that stalled the operation. Journalist Alan Feuer told the Post, "It removed the possibility of Sean Penn's name being splashed across front pages everywhere as a casualty of a drug-war capture operation."
