Flirty messages between drug lord Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman and a Mexican actress led in part to his arrest after six months on the run, according to unnamed officials.

The boss of Mexico's feared Sinaloa cartel exchanged text messages with Kate del Castillo, famous for her role as a drug boss in a TV show, frequently after his escape from a maximum-security prison in July 2015.

It has been claimed Guzman had initially contacted actresses and producers because he wanted to make a biopic of his life.

But the leaked exchanges seem to suggest he was more interested in del Castillo, who used the name Beauty in the messages, than the project.   

"I'll take care of you. You'll see when you come," Guzman, who went by the name "Papa" in the messages, wrote last September.

"You're so beautiful, my friend, in every aspect." 

Guzman eventually met del Castillo face-to-face in an undisclosed jungle clearing in October, along with actor and director Sean Penn.

The Hollywood star, however, does not appear to have been a big draw for Guzman, who in one message asked del Castillo: "What's that actor's name?"  

He later asked his lawyer what movies Penn had starred in.

After the meeting, the actress wrote to Guzman: "I don't sleep much since I saw you. I'm very excited about our story ... It's all I think about."

He replied: "I'm more excited about you than the story."

Authorities raided his hideout in Durango state a few days after the meeting but Guzman grabbed his cook's daughter and used her "as a human shield", holding her in front of him as a helicopter hovered overhead, prompting soldiers to hold fire, a Mexican official said.

It is claimed he eventually made his way to the seaside city of Los Mochis in his native Sinaloa state, where he was captured on Friday in a deadly shoot-out with Mexican marines.

The anonymous official said Guzman went there in part because he was "very interested" in meeting 43-year-old del Castillo again, although a second meeting did not take place.

"This was an almost obsessive interest that turned into another incentive to go down to the city, where he wanted to meet with her," the official said.

When marines raided his Los Mochis hideout, Guzman fled through a tunnel during a gunfight between troops and his henchmen, but he was caught later after attempting a getaway in a stolen car.

An article of Guzman based upon his meeting with Penn later appeared in Rolling Stone magazine, where the drugs boss talked about his childhood, how he became involved in the drugs trade and became head of the Sinaloa cartel.

Guzman stressed he was not a violent person despite being blamed for countless murders.

He also rejected claims he was responsible for the high levels of drug addiction in the world - adding: "The day I don't exist, it's not going to decrease in any way at all."

Mexican authorities have released two mug shots of Guzman following his re-capture, reportedly shot at the time of his processing at the Altiplano maximum security prison.

(Sky)