The rebellious Mexican actress who met with 'El Chapo' claims the Mexican government is trying to 'destroy her'

Actress Kate del Castillo, at the center of a Mexican money-laundering probe after she helped Hollywood star Sean Penn interview drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzmán in October, said Mexico's government wants to "destroy her," Univision reported over the weekend.

Mexican Attorney General Arely Gomez has said that there were "indications" the actress may have used money from Guzmán to help finance her tequila business.

Del Castillo's tequila even got a mention in Penn's rambly Rolling Stone piece which was published the day Guzmán was apprehended.

"The flight had been just bumpy enough that each of us had taken a few swigs off a bottle of Honor tequila, a new brand that Kate is marketing," Penn wrote.

"I have no reason to give explanations to the press. If I don't talk its because my lawyers told me not to because the government wants to destroy me," the actress said in a message to Univision, which published the comment on its website.

A publicist for del Castillo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

 

An official for Mexico's attorney general's office declined to comment on the remarks, but noted that Gomez has guaranteed that the presumption of innocence will be respected.

Del Castillo's father said last week that his daughter will testify at the Mexican consulate in Los Angeles where she will present proof "she is clean."

As the daughter of famed actor Eric del Castillo, she is considered television royalty in Mexico, with a career spanning more than 20 years and the connections to bring Guzmán's movie to life.

For del Castillo, art imitates life as she played merciless drug lordess Teresa Mendoza in popular soap opera "La Reina del Sur" meaning "The Queen of the South."

A Mexican official told The Associated Press that Guzmán's October interview with Sean Penn, which was brokered by del Castillo, eventually led authorities to the then-fugitive drug lord.

 Authorities found DVD copies of del Castillo's telenovela inside Guzmán's hideout during the January 8 raid dubbed operation "Black Swan," which eventually led to his capture.

According to Penn, Guzmán began plotting Hollywood fame while incarcerated in Altiplano prison. 

"He was interested in seeing the story of his life told on film, but would entrust its telling only to Kate (del Castillo)," Penn wrote.

"The same lawyer again tracked her down, this time through the Mexican equivalent of the Screen Actors Guild, and the imprisoned drug lord and the actress began to correspond in handwritten letters and BBM messages."

 

 

(Reporting by Anahi Rama; Writing by Christine Murray; Editing by Mary Milliken)