Without Kate del Castillo, aka the fictional Reina del Sur, Sean Penn would never have gotten the chance to meet and interview Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán – something the Oscar-winning actor discussed at length in his outrageous, controversial Rolling Stone piece. One of Penn’s revelations was that the first time Kate and El Chapo communicated (via Guzmán’s lawyer) was in 2012, after she wrote a scathing open letter that stated support for El Chapo over Mexico’s corrupt politicians.
While del Castillo’s suggestion that the Mexican government may be just as bad (or even worse) than the cartels is nothing new – at the time, the letter’s bold statements generated a ton of controversy in the press and public. Some supporters praised her bravery, while others condemned her for glorifying a man who, along with the government, has been implicated in the deaths of so many.
But if that letter was “brave,” then Kate’s behavior in the three years since has been nothing short of “IDGAF”, since she subsequently began exchanging clandestine messages with one of the most wanted men in the world, helped broker an interview between the drug lord and Sean Penn, went to the middle of the jungle to kick it with El Chapo and shoot tequila, allowed her name to be published in connection with all of this, AND seems unfazed by reports that Guzmán’s capture was linked to the Penn interview. She has yet to comment on any of the above, but brazenly palling around with a drug lord certainly signals that she believes her actions will be met with impunity.
Below, we revisit Kate del Castillo’s ballsy AF behavior in connection to El Chapo:
1
When she said "Sorry not sorry" about her 2012 open letter
As noted above, Kate openly praised El Chapo in 2012, writing “Today I believe more in ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán than in the governments that hide painful truths.”
Bold statement, but not unfounded.
But she didn’t stop there. The actress went on to suggest that the government is hiding the cures for AIDS and cancer for their own benefit, that El Chapo should provide retirement homes with plenty of booze for the elderly, and that “Life is a business, and the only thing that changes is the merchandise.”
As Penn describes it, Kate was “ostracized” for siding with cartels over the government in her letter. Even after her opinions caused a tornado of backlash in the press, del Castillo refused to back down from her statements, and was basically like: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. You can see this in her interview above on with Adela Micha.
In July of last year, Kate reasserted that she wasn’t sorry for writing the letter. Just days after El Chapo escaped for the second time she said, “When I wrote it, I wasn’t very praised, but I didn’t care what people thought. I felt very strongly about what I wrote, and if people misinterpreted, I don’t care. These are my beliefs.”
You can read Kate del Castillo’s full letter to El Chapo here, btw.
2
When she probably posted a photo from the Chapo meet up
According to Sean Penn’s article, on October 2, he and Kate hopped a plane to Mexico. They left LA at 7 a.m. and they didn’t get to El Chapo until 9 p.m. On October 3, she posted a picture of herself and Sean with mariachi. Sean is wearing a similar outfit – sans jacket – in his picture with El Chapo.
Also, she, like Sean in his article, takes the time to name drop Tequila Honor – the brand she is repping. (Side note: After this, she is probably going to be seen as the best spokesperson ever.)
Initially, the media suspected it was a romantic encounter, but she shot that down real quick. Of course, it is unconfirmed whether this photo was actually taken at the site of the Guzmán meet up, but her Instagram followers have connected the dots.
3
When she may have played her dad.
Days after Kate publicly said she didn’t regret her letter to El Chapo, there were rumors that she was actually terrified. According to Entravision, Kate was afraid that El Chapo would contact her. Her father, Eric del Castillo, supposedly confirmed the news.
If this is true, she said something like, “Dad, I’m very afraid that he will contact me or try to get me involved in something. I don’t know, I’m very afraid.”
4
When she definitely played the media.
In August, the media still wouldn’t drop her 2012 letter. So when Primero Noticias asked her what she would do if she saw El Chapo, she replied that she’d “faint.” Of course, we now know that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Instead, Kate was in the middle of the action – insisting that she would accompany Penn – and when a storm hit and they had to immediately evacuate, Kate was really chill. “At daybreak, we just make it to pavement as the ocean falls from the sky and great bolts of lightning illuminate the inside of our vehicle like flash-bang grenades,” Penn wrote. “Alonzo asks Kate to drive. She jumps at the chance to break the monotony, and takes the wheel like a trouper.”
5
When she set out to make a movie about El Chapo.
With or without Sean’s interview, the world would have learned that Kate and El Chapo were working together. Of course, the Rolling Stone article loudly proclaimed it with the “all rights reserved Kate del Castillo productions” that appears before El Chapo answers Penn’s questions.
When he was at Altiplano – the prison from which he would eventually escape for a second time and embarrass Enrique Peña Nieto – he heard that Hollywood types were interested in making a movie on his life. But El Chapo had his own plans, and he reached out to Kate, the only person he trusted to tell his story.
6
When she allowed herself to be identified in Sean's article.
Throughout Sean’s letter, you will see plenty of mononyms sprinkled throughout. Before you even start reading the article, there’s a disclaimer that names have been changed to protect people’s identities.
Kate, on the other hand, gave Sean permission to use her name. “Her courage is further demonstrated in her willingness to be named in this article,” he wrote. “There are both brutal and corrupt forces within the Mexican government who oppose her (and indeed, according to Kate, high-ranking officials have responded to her public statement with private intimidations), and hence, a responsibility of the greater public to shepherd those who make their voices heard.”