Sean Penn admits he was 'baffled' El Chapo took his calls

Sean Penn says he was just as surprised as anyone that he landed an interview with Mexican cartel kingpin, Joaquín Guzmán Loera — a.k.a. "El Chapo."
"I was baffled by his will to see us," Penn said Sunday night on "60 Minutes," during a sit-down about his infamous Rolling Stone article on El Chapo.

During his interview with CBS newscaster Charlie Rose, Penn also criticized the U.S. war on drugs.

"I think the policy of the war on drugs, which so deeply affects all of our lives… seems to be so unmovable," the actor said.

Also Read: El Chapo Didn't Know Who Sean Penn Was Prior to Rolling Stone Interview

Mexican authorities have previously indicated that Penn's interview helped officials track down El Chapo. Penn sat down with the cartel kingpin for seven hours back in October. However, the actor was barred from using a pen, paper or any type of recording devices during the interview.

The drug lord later answered additional questions that were sent to him via BlackBerry Messenger, also known as BBM. Rolling Stone published the story last week with Penn explaining that he met with El Chapo while the drug lord was a fugitive from justice.

In the account, El Chapo revealed the full details of his drug operation, as well as his escape from prison last summer.

Mexican attorney general Arely Gomez said that "discovering Guzman's intention to have a biographic film made" was important to the cartel king's capture. "He contacted actresses and producers, which was part of one line of investigation."

Mexican actress Kate del Castillo helped arrange the interview between Penn and El Chapo. A Mexican government official revealed to Agence France-Presse that authorities "had knowledge of this meeting" and said that knowledge helped make the capture of El Chapo possible.

Also Read: Ex-Rolling Stone Editor: Sean Penn's El Chapo Story Is 'Tropic Thunder' Meets Hunter S. Thompson

In Penn's article, he wrote that El Chapo wanted del Catillo's assistance in adapting his personal story for a movie.

El Chapo disappeared from Mexico's highest security prison last summer, escaping via a mile-long tunnel that some said cost $1 million to build. Penn wrote in the article that the drug lord hired German engineers to build the tunnel.