El Chapo Guzmán Granted Actress "Special Powers" To Film The Kingpin's Biopic

Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán extended Mexican-born actress Kate del Castillo “special powers” to become his “legal representative” in connection with a film about his life and receive the payments that would derive from the movie project, according to a document obtained by U.S. Spanish-language broadcaster Univision.

The four-page proxy letter establishes that del Castillo is authorized to “open and close negotiations, set conditions and amounts of compensations for the production” of movies and documentaries about the life of the kingpin. While saying del Castillo has “exclusive” representation, the document also authorizes California-based film producers Fernando Javier Sulichin and José Ibáñez Martín Pira to represent Guzmán.

In addition, all three are granted rights to conduct discussions and negotiate on El Chapo’s behalf in Mexico or abroad. Siluchin and Ibáñez have worked for film director Oliver Stone.

Attorneys for El Chapo and del Castillo have not disputed the authenticity of the document.

The document was signed by Guzmán in the presence of a Mexican public notary on Jan 9, 2015, presumably while he was still in prison. Guzmán escaped from a maximum security prison outside Mexico City in July 2015. He was recaptured in January of this year in the Mexican coastal state of Sinaloa.

A stunning collection of flirtatious text messages between Guzmán and del Castillo–leaked by the Mexican government to Mexican papers—confirmed their mutual interest in the movie project. According to the text messages, El Chapo told del Castillo that he was dying to meet her in person. “Me too, indeed, and be able to tell you about our project,” she replied.