(Mexico's federal government/Amanda Macias/Business Insider)
The latest booking photo of Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzmán.

Since the recapture of Mexican drug lord Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, many lurid details have emerged about his relationship with his apparent paramour, Mexican actress Kate del Castillo, revealing not only the flirtation between them, but also shedding light on just how she helped arrange a meeting between the drug lord and actor Sean Penn.

But the section below, excerpted from a transcript of messages published by Mexican newspaper Milenio this week, shows just how taken he was with del Castillo. One series of text messages even revolves around Guzmán discussing with an associate the merits of several types of smartphones: the iPhone 6, Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge, and the BlackBerry Leap.

After their conversation ended on September 25, 2015, Guzmán asked an associate for more information about Penn's work. When his conversation partner started to look for information about the American actor on a BlackBerry, the conversation turned to cellphones.

Here's the exchange, translated:

12:08:46 a.m. — M: I'm checking it, pardon me please, I'm doing it with my Blackberry data.

12:10:27 a.m. — Guzmán: Or iPhone or tablet, iPhone is a new tablet telephone.

12:18:47 a.m. — M: Blackberry Leap is the most recent, and it is the size of a minilap [mini laptop]. Its system is the most sophisticated in the area of business. Its battery guarantees 25 hours in duration. The iPhone 6 Plus is better and the most recent.

12:21:12 a.m. —M: The Samsung 6 Edge is the most sophisticated of all the telephone platforms. Its system is Android and it has the most recent technology.

12:21:28 a.m. —M: I don't know the price of the Black [Blackberry].

(Flickr/Kārlis Dambrāns)
The Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge.

12:22:44 a.m. —M: [The cost] of the iPhone 6 is $14 to $16 thousand, [$768 to $877] depending on its capacity.

12:23:23 a.m. —M: The Samsung 5 Edge costs about $16 thousand [$877].

12:23:28 a.m. — Guzmán: And the Galaxy?

12:24:19 a.m. — Guzmán: Which would be the one that looks the prettiest?

12:24:29 a.m. — Guzmán: For you

12:26:46 a.m. —M: The Galaxy already was, in its moment it was one of the best. In my humble opinion, the Samsung 6 Edge [likely referring to its appearance]

...

12:28:13 a.m. — M: But if you have to [ask] I say that the best [is] the Blackberry Leap. But it's up to you.

12:28:57 a.m. — Guzmán: The Black, how much does it cost?

12:32:18 a.m. — M: ... And I don't have info for the price of the Blackberry. But tomorrow, Telcel will quote us a price for it.

12:37:07 a.m. — Guzmán: Rest, and at 9 send me the price, please ...

(Thomson Reuters)
Actor Sean Penn and Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán in an undated Rolling Stone handout.

The above dialogue seems so everyday that it's easy to forget that it was part of a longer, more furtive exchange between a powerful drug lord linked to thousands of killings and one of his associates.

In the past, Guzmán had no trouble communicating with the outside world while in jail.

This time, however, the Mexican government seems to be working hard to prevent that.

An earlier version of this story had 'M' as Mexican actress Kate del Castillo. We regret the error.

NOW WATCH: Here’s footage from the Sean Penn interview that helped Mexican forces recapture El Chapo

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