"My article should not have made this much noise. El Chapo should not have been this popular a figure to read about," he told Charlie Rose on '60 Minutes'.
"We all want this drug problem to stop... How much time have they spent in the last week since this article (came) out talking about that? One per cent?. I think that'd be generous," the actor said.
Penn said he doesn't understand why Guzman agreed to do the interview with him.
"I can't read his mind. I would say that, you know, from the conversation that was had, he, in several ways, wanted to be on the record," Penn said.
Mexican authorities later said the drug lord's meeting with the actor helped them trace him.