Sean Penn drank tequila with 'El Chapo' in a Mexican jungle - while he was still on the run from authorities

Mexican drug kingpin Joaquín Guzmán Loera, aka "El Chapo," gave his first ever interview to American actor Sean Penn for Rolling Stone magazine in October, three months after he escaped from a maximum-security Mexican prison.

Penn apparently met with El Chapo, who was recaptured by Mexican marines on Friday, in a compound in the middle of the Mexican jungle, speaking with the drug lord for seven hours about everything from his own use of drugs to the phenomenon of Donald Trump.

Writing in Rolling Stone about the encounter, Penn comments on Chapo's "indisputable charisma" - and his wardrobe. El Chapo was apparently wearing "casual patterned silk shirt and pressed black jeans," and appeared "remarkably well-groomed and healthy for a man on the run."

"Throughout my introduction, Chapo smiles a warm smile," Penn notes. "In fact, in what would be a seven-hour sit-down, I saw him without that smile only in brief flashes. As has been said of many notorious men, he has an indisputable charisma. When I ask about his dynamic with the Mexican government, he pauses. 'Talking about politicians, I keep my opinion to myself. They go do their thing and I do mine.'"

The drug baron was detained on Friday after an early-morning raid in his native state of Sinaloa, where he was reportedly making a biopic about his life. 

"An important aspect that allowed us to locate him was that we discovered Guzman's intention to make a biographical film, for which he established contact with actresses and producers," Mexico's attorney general, Arely Gomez, told the AFP.

Significantly, the meeting between Penn and El Chapo was brokered by Kate del Castillo - one of the most famous actors in Mexico. The three shared tequila while Penn mused about "how funny it would be if there were a weaponized drone above us."

Penn notes in the article that it occurred to him while he was in Mexico that he might be under the surveillance of Mexican authorities or the US Drug Enforcement Agency.

In a video interview, Guzman responded to the questions Penn could not get to during their 7-hour meeting in the jungle, including one about how the drug lord would "define himself."

"Well... with respect, and from my point of view, it's a person who's not looking for problems in any way," El Chapo says. "In any way. "

As The New York Times noted shortly after the article was released, it is unclear if any of Penn's reporting led to El Chapo's capture three months later. But Penn ends the piece with a premonition: "El Chapo? It won't be long, I'm sure, before the Sinaloa cartel's next shipment into the United States is the man himself."

Check out the full interview at Rolling Stone>>