Sean Penn has said he has no regrets about his clandestine visit to interview Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman as incredible images emerged of the actor arriving in the country reportedly taken by Mexican intelligence.

In a brief email exchange with The Associated Press, Penn was asked about images published in Mexican news media Monday that appeared to show him and actress Kate Del Castillo arrive ahead of their October visit with Guzman.

'I've got nothin' to hide,' he wrote.

Nothin' to hide: A figure closely resembling Sean Penn can be seen arriving in Mexico in October ahead of his remarkable meeting with Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman in pictures obtained by Mexican newspaper El Universal

El Chapo's downfall? A woman that closely resembles Mexican actress Kate Del Castillo, who played an integral role in setting up the meeting can also be seen at the airport

Meeting El Chapo: Mexican newspaper El Universal has published photos of Sean Penn arriving in Mexico to meet with El Chapo. Above, the actor pictured shaking the drug lord's hand in a photo taken for Rolling Stone magazine

Guzman was captured last Friday, more than three months after Penn's October 2 meeting with him in central Mexico and six months after escaping from prison.

Penn did not respond directly to questions on whether it was appropriate for him to submit his Rolling Stone story to Guzman for approval in advance of publication, or whether he took adequate information and operational security measures to protect his source.

The photos of Penn arriving in Mexico before flying to a jungle camp for the meeting, published by Mexican newspaper El Universal, appear to have been taken with a telephoto lens from long distance. The newspaper said that the pictures were part of a Mexican government intelligence file that it obtained, which would prove the actor was being watched from the moment he landed in the country.

Planner: Intelligence files reportedly indicate that Mexican agents had been photographing Del Castillo (pictured on October 25) since her first meeting with El Chapo's lawyers back in June

In the pictures, figures believed to be Penn and Del Castillo are seen wearing dark glasses, and in Penn's case, a baseball cap.

The newspaper says the intelligence file indicates that Mexican agents had been photographing Del Castillo since her first meeting with Guzman's lawyers in the city of Guadalajara, on June 16. It further alleges that surveillance of Del Castillo began as far back as August 2014.

Guzman was recaptured in an early morning raid Friday, in his home state of Sinaloa, six months after staging a bold escape from Meixco's most secure prison.

Mexican authorities are working with the U.S. to extradite Guzman to America where he also faces drug-related charges.

Guzman's prison break in July was his second, and authorities hope incarceration in the United States will insure he stays behind bars.

The head of extradition for the Mexican Attorney General's Office says it probably will take at least a year to extradite Guzman.

Officials had previously estimated a six-month minimum, but Jose Manuel Merino told local media that the extradition would probably take 'one year or longer'.

Merino told Radio Formula that the length of the process would depend on how hard the defendant's lawyers fight each stage. Merino said the process had lasted as long as six years, in one case.

The Attorney General's Office issued a statement Sunday it's started the extradition mechanism by notifying Guzman that two arrest warrants from the U.S. are being processed.