Original subtitles

This series is based on Kate del Castillo's account

of events related to her meeting with Sean Penn and "El Chapo" Guzm�n.

The opinions expressed are those of the commentators featured.

Sean Penn... Who is Sean Penn?

It's incredible to be able to sit down and talk to someone like that.

He's a Hollywood figure and he's a great actor.

As for him being a good journalist...

I don't know.

But something was telling me,

"He isn't 100% on Kate's side.

He's thinking about himself."

He's always been a controversial figure with a strong temperament.

Sean Penn is with us here today. Let's give him a round of applause.

For me, Kate's big mistake was not meeting El Chapo,

but rather bringing Sean Penn along.

A NETFLIX ORIGINAL SERIES

WELCOME TO BADIRAGUATO

THE DAY I MET EL CHAPO

OCTOBER 1, 2015

THE DAY BEFORE THE TRIP

I thought it was important for Mr. Guzm�n to meet the producers and Sean.

Because we were all going to be making the movie.

So it was important that he get to know them and for everyone to be happy.

Mr. Guzm�n asked me who Sean Penn was.

I told him that he was an actor

who had been married to Madonna,

and who had made several movies.

He wasn't too interested. He just wanted to know who he was.

I did tell him clearly that he was American

and that he honestly didn't seem like a trustworthy person.

But he didn't really care. He wanted her to come with whoever she wanted.

I don't know

how on earth El Chapo Guzm�n didn't know who Sean Penn was.

"Well, he's a Hollywood actor." "Oh. What has he done?"

He had no idea who Sean Penn was.

The day before we left, we were excited but also nervous.

I don't know about him...

He came by to bring me his passport and ended up staying for the tasting.

Tequila and mariachi!

KATE'S HOUSE LOS ANGELES, CA, USA

Sean Penn is a lot of fun. He's charming, he's charismatic...

He's an interesting guy to watch and listen to and all that.

He's got the best anecdotes.

His anecdotes involve Marlon Brando.

His anecdotes are to die for.

Anecdotes with De Niro, Pacino, and many more. You'd think, "Incredible!"

There was a great sense of complicity between Sean and I.

We both knew, but no one else did,

that the next day we'd be taking one of the most important trips of our lives.

It was something that could either change our lives or end our lives.

OCTOBER 2, 2015

THE DAY OF THE MEETING WITH EL CHAPO.

HE'S HIDING SOMEWHERE IN MEXICO...

I woke up and thought, "What am I going to wear?"

I didn't know whether the place they were taking us would be hot or cold.

I wanted to bring something for El Chapo.

I brought him a bottle of my tequila as a gift

and to thank him for his trust.

I brought him a book by Sabines.

Perhaps I wanted to make him more sensitive somehow.

Before we got on the plane,

El Chapo and I were texting.

As soon as I boarded, I told him, "We're already on the plane.

I'll switch off my phone."

He told me, "I'll switch off mine as well."

He told me, "I won't speak to you at all until I see you in person."

At the time, El Chapo was the most wanted man by two governments.

And we were the only people who had the chance of meeting him face to face.

In this case, it would be a risk for Mr. Joaqu�n Guzm�n.

It was a risk and he was warned. Of course it was a risk.

But he wanted to take it. Mr. Guzm�n wanted to take that risk.

He's someone who has no fears.

So he didn't mind taking another risk.

How can you talk directly like that to a drug dealer?

You cannot mess around with someone like him.

We're talking about the most wanted criminal in the world.

El Chapo is like a saint, miss.

They say El Chapo is around here.

This is his area of influence.

Who knows where he is? That is a mystery to all of us.

When you interview a criminal on the run,

they don't tell you anything at all.

I mean, they don't tell you what the protocol is,

so everything is spontaneous.

You have to dive into a clandestine spectrum.

And that gets the adrenaline flowing.

I know it was dangerous, and I understood what it would entail,

but I was really excited to set out on that journey.

GUADALAJARA AIRPORT GUADALAJARA, MEXICO

The Mexican government were monitoring, from the very beginning,

Kate del Castillo, Sean Penn and El Chapo Guzm�n himself.

They even had pictures of Kate and Sean at the airport.

RETIRED DEA AGENT

As soon as they pinpointed the area

where El Chapo was thought to be,

they found a communication link between him and her.

They didn't have the specifics because it's a complex area,

but they were intrigued that a person who was here in LA

was suddenly having intermittent contact with him.

Later on, they identified that it was about a potential meeting.

When we got there, we went straight to the hotel.

Mr. Guzm�n's lawyer was already waiting for us when we arrived.

He told us to leave behind our phones and everything else we had brought.

And so we did, except for Sean, who kept a small suitcase he had brought along.

From what I was told, Sean Penn's bag wasn't checked

because Mr. Guzm�n never asked.

He simply trusted the people who were coming.

At that point, a fancy car arrived,

followed by two large SUVs.

It looked like they contained security personnel.

As soon as she arrived in Mexico,

she managed to fool the authorities through El Chapo's people.

They were prepared, and they were professionals in that area.

They sent a decoy Kate in one direction,

another one in a different direction, and so on,

with the purpose of misleading...

National Security, who didn't know who to follow.

And then she completely vanished.

Even as journalists, we do not pursue any close encounters with the narcos.

Neither do we like to be intermediaries or act as such,

because we think it's a delicate and dangerous issue.

At that moment, she could have been detained at any point, and she knew it.

We got to a place that was fenced off.

And we went into a clandestine landing strip,

where two Cessna aircraft were waiting.

I said, "Oh my God. Where are we going?"

I remember getting on the plane...

and I was... literally shaking.

I was very scared and had my doubts.

I had already taken two or three sips of the tequila

because that was the only way I could control my nerves.

During the trip, I thought, "Who knows where this man will take us?"

We didn't know who he was.

He started saying, "My dad this, and my dad, that..."

And I asked him, "Who is your dad?"

He said, "What do you mean? You don't know?

My dad is Joaqu�n, El Chapo."

I said, "OK," and I turned around and told Sean, "I think this is important.

He is El Chapo's son."

Then I asked him, "Aren't you going to blindfold us?"

He said, "No. Where is the trust?

What were you told? What movie did you watch?

No, no, no. And ultimately, do you know where you are?"

"Well, no."

I had no idea.

We landed.

They told us, "Come on! Get off, quickly!"

We got off the aircraft, and there were vans already waiting for us.

And we left.

SOMEWHERE IN THE SINALOA MOUNTAINS

I had no idea where we would meet, if it would be at his home...

We didn't know what would happen or where we were going.

Night had already fallen and it was completely dark.

We finally arrived at a place...

I got out of the car, and I couldn't see anything.

I didn't know who had opened the door for me.

I got out and I was greeted with a hug.

And I heard, "My friend... Welcome."

I got goose bumps.

I couldn't believe it.

I knew it was him simply because he called me "friend."

El Chapo Guzm�n falls in love very easily.

He loves impossible love stories.

And this was his next romantic target,

someone who apparently seemed impossible to seduce.

And it turned into an obsession,

because this was someone who was beautiful, kind and smart,

and who had publicly defended him on Twitter.

She had said that he raised more interesting points

than corrupt governments.

This was a tunnel of love,

built to reach a woman who was apparently out of his reach.

"Life is a business. The only thing that changes is the commodity. Right?"

Well, gentlemen, I'm Teresa Mendoza. And I'm the Queen of the South.

El Chapo Guzm�n and millions of Mexicans became Kate's fans

thanks to La Reina del Sur.

Kate!

Thank you for placing your trust in us and granting us an interview.

I think, because of the interview I did with her,

it was during that hit TV series...

that she started looking for a way to get in touch with El Chapo.

I don't know if that was her plan, but the life of this character caught her eye.

I think the same thing happened to El Chapo with Kate del Castillo.

And that's why he granted her the interview.

I need your help.

I'm sorry to tell you, but there's nothing I can do for you.

When he watched the TV series La Reina del Sur,

her performance caught his eye.

We spoke,

and he was happy to see that a Mexican lady,

an actress like Kate del Castillo, had those qualities

and knew how to do a show like that.

The second time El Chapo Guzm�n escaped,

the TV series he had been watching for the third time was La Reina del Sur.

So, that's kind of like a compliment, right?

You crazy South American...

I'm not South American! Mexico is in the North, you idiot!

I'm a Northerner! A Northerner!

In Colombia, the artist who played Pablo Escobar

at one point said, "I don't know whether he's an angel or a demon."

So, when you contaminate yourself, so to speak,

with the world of drug dealing,

you somehow end up understanding and justifying

those characters and the world they live in.

Your enemies await your order as to their fate.

Everyone is talking about this justification of drug dealers.

We are actors and we tell stories.

And, yes, they are sensitive issues because of what's going on in Mexico,

but... it's fiction!

I don't want to be Teresa Mendoza. I don't want Teresa Mendoza's life.

I don't want to hide.

And if that is considered to be justifying drug dealers, well, I don't agree.

Something about Kate that got my attention,

was that she once said, "The word 'cut' exists!"

Many people don't understand that.

They are human beings who are acting,

until they hear "cut", and then they go back to their normal lives.

He made me sit down.

He sat right next to me.

To his left was Iv�n, his eldest son, whom I had met that one time.

Alfredo sat down here, to my right.

And there sat Jos� Ib��ez.

Sean sat in front of me.

Once we were all settled,

the first thing he said to me was, "My friend, you must be hungry."

I told him, "We're starving. We haven't eaten."

So he brought me grilled pork tacos.

I started eating and I couldn't even manage the first bite.

I didn't want to reject his food because I thought it was very rude,

but I couldn't even swallow it.

I took out the bottle of Honor.

After chatting and eating for a while,

Sean told me, "Kate, please ask him if I can interview him."

No one ever told me...

Or Sean never told me he wanted to do an interview for a magazine.

When you sit down in front of Mr. Guzm�n Loera,

that is not the time to change the plan.

"I came to discuss my movie,

but the man I brought with me wants to talk about an article."

KATE'S US LAWYER

I got uncomfortable.

So, I turned around and said...

"My friend, Sean is asking whether he can interview you."

And he replied, "An interview? What for?"

And I said, "For the Rolling Stone magazine."

He turned around and asked his sons, "Do you know that magazine?"

And Iv�n says, "Yes, dad, I've...

I've heard of that magazine. I know which one it is."

Se he said, "Yes, I'll do it.

If you think that's a good thing, my friend, I'll do it."

I thought, "I can't believe it."

I think it took her by surprise.

It wasn't part of the initial project they had in mind.

They were supposed to talk about the movie.

Not an interview.

No one had ever interviewed him.

This had never happened before.

I thought to myself, "There must be a reason for this because he is no fool."

These thoughts were crossing my mind at a million miles per minute.

I thought, "Maybe it's because we don't know what will happen to Mr. Guzm�n,

so our movie can be based on that article, on the interview done by Sean."

So I thought, "OK." I calmed myself down, and took a deep breath.

I didn't want them to realize that I was uncomfortable.

So I turned to Sean and told him, "He said yes."

And he said, "OK, and do you think I can ask him the questions now?

Or should I stay here for a couple of days?"

"Sean asks whether he can stay with you for a couple of days to interview you."

I already knew the answer...

So El Chapo said, "Tell this disheveled guy that I've just met him."

And I said, "He's just met you.

You can't stay because he doesn't live here. He won't stay here."

He then went, "OK. Ask him whether I can come back in eight days."

I didn't like his pushiness.

I said, "He asked whether he can come back in eight days."

El Chapo said, "First of all, he won't be coming back here by himself, my friend.

If you don't come, there won't be an interview.

Besides, who is going to translate?"

So I told him, "Sean, you are not coming back by yourself.

If I can come back with you in eight days, then yes."

He asked me, "Can you?" And I...

I said yes, because I felt cornered.

But I didn't want to go back there.

What we were doing there was already extremely dangerous.

TV PRESENTER/ACTRESS

For someone to come out of the blue like that, and...

Mr. Guzm�n immediately said that he was not going to do it for safety reasons.

And then Sean insisted again,

"My friend, can we take a picture?"

"What for?"

"For Rolling Stone magazine.

So that they know I was with you and I'm not making this up."

And he said, "What do you think, my friend?"

And I... "As you wish, my friend."

"OK, let's do it."

I thought, "I can't believe what I'm hearing.

I can't believe what is happening right now."

I think that the photo of Kate, El Chapo and Sean Penn

is the result of that tense moment for Kate.

If they tell you, "Shall we take a picture?"

I'd like to see a single person capable of saying,

"I won't be in a picture with you."

I'd like to see that.

We got back from taking the photos.

And he told me, "My friend, I think it's time for you to go to bed."

I said, "Yes, I think so, my friend."

I stood up and he immediately came to get my chair.

And he told me, "I'm coming with you."

It was one of those seconds when all your life flashes before your eyes.

I turned around and looked at Sean...

looking for help, wondering what to do, what to say,

and what would happen now.

During those seconds, I truly thought the absolute worst.

And there was nothing I could do. What else could I do?

I turned around,

I started walking and he joined me here.

He took my arm, my elbow,

and he led the way.

We carried on walking.

We got to the entrance of a room, and he told me...

"This will be your room. This is where you will sleep."

There was no one around to see us.

He could have done whatever he wanted to me.

Kate was in danger, at risk.

At the end of the day,

you are in a savage world, you are in the jungle.

She was at his mercy. Kate knew this.

He could have said, "Since I have Kate here, well, I'm going to cross the line.

I'll touch her, kiss her, use her body..."

I think Kate was more afraid that he might do something to her.

He could have killed her or raped her. She was in his hands.

To a great extent,

the story of drug dealing and the part that characters like El Chapo play

is understood through this nostalgic idea

that in the past, drug lords were good people.

That is not true.

It is said that the ethical codes were broken,

that there used to be ethical codes that prevented any assault on women,

any attack on families,

and through which anyone who was not in the business had to be respected.

That's false.

Women were a commodity, as Kate pointed out.

Women were mostly used for pleasure,

and narcos didn't bother marrying them,

or they married one, but then had others.

And if they didn't like them, they would rape them.

The relationship El Chapo had

while he was in Puente Grande...

He had a girlfriend there - a penitentiary cook.

The truth is he forced her to be with him,

because, "You can't reject El Chapo."

That's in line with what she said.

This relationship he had

in Puente Grande with Zulema,

the love letters he wrote to her...

They were very sappy.

You wouldn't think

that one of the most wanted criminals in the country could be so sappy

in terms of his writing and his personality.

Zulema Hern�ndez ended up being murdered.

Apparently, it was the Los Zetas Cartel who did it.

She was found in the trunk of a van.

She was disfigured and had "Z" marks on her body.

He then stared at me.

And I thought...

"Let's see what happens."

I told him, "My friend, don't forget about the tweet.

Don't forget what I told you in that tweet,

and the reason why we are here.

We have to do the right thing. Let's do something good.

And I would like for part of the profits from this film

to be donated to the families of those affected by organized crime."

I don't know. I was very nervous.

But I thought, "I have to say it. I'm here. This is my only chance.

And there won't be another one, so I have to say it."

He said, "My friend...

I wasn't wrong about you.

You have a big heart.

Let's do that."

He said, "I'm leaving now.

I never stay where my guests are staying, for their safety and mine.

So you won't see me again. This is goodbye.

And thank you for giving me some of the best hours in a very long time."

He hugged me again,

and said, "I am leaving now."

OCTOBER 3, 2015

Before dawn, Kate and her companions

set off on an eight-hour drive back to Guadalajara.

Kate and Sean were scheduled to fly back to Los Angeles together.

We were on our way back from the mountains,

filled with adrenaline and emotions.

We'd had an experience like no other.

We were also very tired.

I fell asleep and Sean hugged me,

and he put my head on his shoulder.

I think I touched his chest.

Or something like that. He said...

Later on he said, "That moment when you touched my chest,

I knew something would happen between us."

I told her, "Sean Penn? Really?

That guy?"

Of course, he can be fascinating, but not as a friend,

and less so as the seducer he is.

Because, like many other men, he obviously tried to seduce her.

When we got back, we were very moved. A lot had happened.

So I think it made sense for something to happen between us.

The guy is, or so I thought, very sensitive to many causes.

He would show me videos from Haiti,

videos showing how he's helped the people there.

And I saw him cry. We cried together.

He knew how to say the things that I wanted to hear.

He knew how to gain my trust.

The relationship was the result of the circumstances.

I enjoyed it and...

I don't regret it.

I fell, my friend. What can I say?

OCTOBER 6, 2015

FOUR DAYS AFTER THE MEETING WITH EL CHAPO.

WELCOME TO BADIRAGUATO

After Kate del Castillo and Sean Penn's visit to El Chapo Guzm�n,

there was a capture attempt

by the federal government.

But he wasn't captured.

Mr. Guzm�n's abilities are surprising.

I mean, he just outsmarts the government.

Few people have that kind of information and knowledge of the mountain range.

He ran all of it. He's always been there.

Of course he knew all the details and the places where he could hide.

The National Security Commission confirmed that Guzm�n Loera

narrowly avoided a recapture operation.

It has now known that the injuries he suffered on his face and leg

were the result of him rolling down a ravine

in the municipality of Cosal�, Sinaloa.

What I know is what El Chapo told me by text message.

He told me that the military had got in and had killed a lot of people.

I cannot confirm that because I looked all over the news and found nothing.

Then something came up in a newspaper called El Debate.

They showed a live video,

and you could hear the shots being fired and the helicopters.

They were running.

They were running and saying, "They are killing people."

LIVE RECORDING OF THE SINALOA RAID - EL DEBATE NEWSPAPER

The soldiers are attacking us.

I want them to leave.

This recording is for all human rights organizations.

I'm scared, Mom.

Sons of bitches!

Calm down, son.

We're panicking.

According to Sean, they came in because of us.

They knew we were there.

And they didn't want to go in while we were there

to avoid any harm to us, to avoid killing us by mistake, for whatever reason,

as if our lives were worth more than the lives of the people there.

I was at home with the kids.

We heard the helicopter but thought it was passing by, as it always does.

Then it turned around and started shooting a rain of bullets.

JOURNALIST

During those days,

we were certain that El Chapo's pursuit was a very strong one.

There were no killings. There were violations.

There were violations and people got really scared.

They had to leave because the military came,

but there were no search warrants or any of that legal stuff.

I honestly don't know what really happened.

It's one of those things that...

hurts me, and it makes me feel really guilty,

and it's one of the things that I regret.

Maybe if we had not gone there, none of that would have happened.

"What if" no longer exists.

And that is now out of my hands, you know?

Many things were out of my hands.

OCTOBER 12, 2015

TEN DAYS AFTER THE MEETING.

Our sources told us,

"You know what?

El Chapo Guzm�n has just had a meeting with Kate del Castillo

at the Sinaloa University reserve in Cosal�."

This looks like the place where we met.

It might actually be this place.

I honestly don't remember much because it was all very dark.

We explored the reserve with the help of the people who work there.

We took pictures of the interior and exterior of the cabins.

And I was able to determine that Kate del Castillo and El Chapo Guzm�n

had indeed met at the University's ecological reserve.

The room where Kate del Castillo stayed

was called "Hummingbird."

I do remember that my room...

Well, the room I slept in with Sean and the other two producers

looked like this and was divided by a screen.

This might be the place.

I got her home phone number through a contact in Mexico City.

When she answered the call, I said,

"Hi, I'm Ismael Bojorquez, the editor of the R�odoce newspaper, and so on..."

"I WAS NEVER IN SINALOA," KATE SAYS

"I just wanted to know whether you were in Sinaloa recently.

As far as we know, you were."

"Sinaloa? I've never been to Sinaloa."

"Were you not at the Cosal�Reserve?"

"Not at all."

"We have sources that tell us you were."

"I don't even know where Cosal�is."

"Listen, how did you get this number?"

"I got it in Mexico City."

"Firstly, I don't like you calling here. Secondly, I don't know who you are.

And thirdly, I'm fed up with all of that nonsense..."

"...you are trying to make up."

Yes, I remember that conversation. But I was never told who they were.

Where he was... I don't remember him telling me he was a journalist.

I do remember this call and my blood pressure dropping.

MEETING AT THE UAS

It truly ripped me apart,

because I thought, "They already know. They know it was us.

It will all be revealed."

I felt completely helpless.

I obviously told Sean and everyone else that they called to say that.

But it was really strange because they mispronounced "Cosal�."

They removed the accent.

I thought it might be a guy from the DEA,

one of those gringos that cannot pronounce words properly.

Because a local would know it's "Cosal�" and not "Cosala."

I didn't even know what to say.

But I do remember his call.

IN THE FOLLOWING WEEKS

She is a woman that takes risks.

The first risk I know of

was her decision to come to the most difficult place to break into:

Los Angeles.

And she succeeded.

But maybe that wasn't enough,

so she went looking for...

El Chapo.

And she took a great risk,

because he's involved in drug dealing, crime, murders...

But he is a mythical character.

If anyone in our industry

had been offered an interview with El Chapo,

they would have gone.

I would have gone.

The possibility of coming into contact with someone like that,

which does not mean endorsing his actions,

but finding out his motives and telling his story...

That would tempt anyone.

Because you have to tell the story,

and the story gets told by going where the action happens,

not by sitting behind a desk.

We had signed the movie rights,

but the plans for a movie about El Chapo were put on hold.

After we met with El Chapo in October,

I devoted myself to Sean's article.

I was still being loyal to Rolling Stone and to Sean.

I couldn't say anything to anyone because it was a delicate issue.

It was not something I could tell everyone about.

I was the intermediary between Sean Penn and El Chapo Guzm�n.

And, well, it wasn't easy because he was a fugitive at the time.

I was constantly afraid that he might call me

or that Sean might call me.

We had disposable phones.

I always had them on, next to my bed.

It was horrible. The tension was just awful.

And you're also physically and mentally exhausted because you don't sleep.

I was scared all night.

I couldn't lean on anyone, so I found support in Sean.

My support at that time was Sean.

We were both going through the same.

I know I was never alone,

but in those moments, I felt alone.

NOVEMBER 20, 2015

Six weeks after the meeting.

Unable to visit El Chapo in Mexico again,

Kate and Sean decide to send him video instructions

to record the interview.

We went to the Beverly Hills hotel to record a video.

That's where Sulich�n and Ib��ez were staying.

So we got together there once, with Sean,

to tell them that we needed a video, and ask whether they could send it to us,

even if it was just five seconds long,

to prove it was him answering the questions.

Rolling Stone was asking for it as a fact checker,

to legitimate this, and to make sure we...

I said, "You already have the photo for that, I mean...

The photo works just fine."

"No, we want a video." So that was it.

My friend, I am here with Sean, and we'd like to tell you something.

Hello, my friend.

We are trying... I will translate now.

We are trying to send you a video explaining how you have to do it.

I put all of that on a USB stick.

The next time I went to Mexico was to attend the F�nix Awards.

We've followed Kate since we first saw her in Los Angeles and then Marbella.

Now, we're in her home country. How are you, Kate?

Welcome to my country. Welcome to Mexico.

One of the lawyers left me a message

at my hotel, under a different name,

to tell me where and at what time he would meet me,

so I could give him the USB.

The message said, "See you in Xochimilco, at a certain entrance and a certain time."

And I was like, "Fuck! Xochimilco..."

NOVEMBER 24, 2015

XOCHIMILCO MEXICO CITY

So we got to Xochimilco, and there was no light whatsoever.

TRADITIONAL PIER - XOCHIMILCO

She arrived late, at around 2:30 a.m.

We chose that place so we could go unnoticed.

At any other place, it would have been easy to spot us.

I saw some cars parked, and then suddenly one turned its lights on.

I saw four people getting out.

They said, "Come here."

I thought I would simply get there, give them the USB stick and leave.

Then they asked me to get in a canoe,

and I did because I felt I couldn't really say no.

I was trapped.

I got in the canoe and we left.

I felt very scared at that point because I thought,

I know the lawyer, but I don't know any of these three people.

I don't know who they are.

So we sailed through the canals.

If anyone knows Xochimilco, this is...

We call it "Mexico's Venice."

It was the dead of night, and there was absolutely no light anywhere.

This meeting was simply for me to give them the USB stick.

The only thing I wanted was to go back quickly,

or if anything were to happen, for it to happen quickly.

I told them, "I think it's time to go back.

I'm very tired and I have to work tomorrow, and...

Please, let's just go back."

They said, "OK...

Turn around!"

And that was it. We went back. But we had been out for two hours.

And just as I'm stepping out of the canoe,

the guy that was rowing recognized me.

"Oh! I didn't realize it was you!"

So, selfie time. With the canoe guy. And the other three.

I didn't want those selfies to be published

and for people to think that I was partying with those guys.

I ended up getting back to the hotel

at around 4:00- 4:30 in the morning.

I closed the door,

and I started crying and crying and crying

like a baby, like I hadn't in a very long time.

I started wailing. It was horrible.

I was also kicking myself a bit. "Why do I get involved in situations like this?

Why do I risk my life like that?"

I didn't feel safe at all there.

I was... alone with four people...

And I only knew one.

That experience was far worse...

than going to Sinaloa to meet El Chapo.

DECEMBER 5, 2015

The next mission was to get the video that we had asked El Chapo to film.

Sean was right here, breathing on my neck all the time,

putting more and more pressure on me.

At the same time, I was also putting pressure on Mr. Guzm�n.

I asked him, "How are you getting on with the video, my friend?

Did you film it? Did you answer the questions?"

In the end, he told me,

"The video is ready."

It turned out that someone was going to travel to New York,

and I asked that person a favor. "Listen, I'm being sent a couple of things.

I'm not sure what, but please bring it to me, and I'll meet you in New York."

"Yes, of course."

And that was it.

It was a phone, literally.

I turned it on and started looking for something,

and I suddenly saw a video with his face on it.

I saw El Chapo Guzm�n's face.

He was wearing a blue shirt, sitting on a chair like this, and looking very relaxed.

He was looking straight ahead, speaking to the camera.

I was taken aback by the demystification that was achieved through that video.

It gave a voice and a face

to the myth.

If he cared about his anonymity...

that was the biggest mistake.

I want it to be clear that the content of this interview...

is exclusively for Miss Kate del Castillo

and Mr. Sean Penn.

Subtitle translation by Laura Cucurullo