Sean Penn's interview with "El Chapo" was not part of investigation: Ben Rhodes

The White House denied that the interview between actor Sean Penn and Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán was part of the efforts of the United States authorities to achieve his capture.

"I think Sean Penn, as he has said himself, was there to conduct an interview. He was not there as a part of any U.S. government effort to apprehend El Chapo," Ben Rhodes, national security advisor, said to MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell.

“We do dedicate significant resources to helping them find, identify and apprehend people like El Chapo," he added.

Rhodes added that the Mexican authorities have been very receptive to the discussions with the Department of State about the extradition of "El Chapo".

Mitchell asked Rhodes about reports that the U.S. had told Mexican authorities to stand down from a raid in October because Penn was meeting with the drug lord.

“I'm not aware of specific operational matters along those lines. What I would say is we have very robust cooperation with the Mexicans when it comes to breaking up these cartels, going after cartel leadership,” Rhodes said.

“We have been a partner in the fight to apprehend El Chapo for years, and we recently, of course, had a significant breakthrough in his recapture again. So this is an ongoing cooperative effort with Mexico,” he added.