Sean Penn and Kate del Castillo could find themselves targeted for revenge by Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán's underlings in the wake of their reported involvement in his capture.

According to TMZ, at least one security expert speculates that the two could be in danger, after Mexican officials publicly claimed it was the Rolling Stone interview Penn recently conducted with the drug kingpin that revealed his location to authorities.

Del Castillo, meanwhile, has been widely credited with helping Penn land the interview with the notorious leader of the Sinaloa drug cartel. Her relationship with Guzmán goes so deep, she once brazenly declared she trusted him more than top officials of the Mexican government.

"Today I believe more in El Chapo Guzman than in the governments that hide the truth from me even though it is painful," the 43-year-old del Castillo wrote in a message posted to her Twitter account in 2012.

CNN reports del Castillo also has a history of starring in films about crime bosses, and she herself once played the role of a drug kingpin.

Her experience went a long way with Guzmán, who reached out to del Castillo when he decided to turn his life story into a feature film. Eventually, that led to Penn's involvement, and the two then set up the Rolling Stone interview with the drug lord.

"It perhaps should have come as no surprise that this homegrown icon of entertainment would catch the interest of a singular fan and fugitive from Sinaloa," Penn wrote in the article.

When he was arrested in 2014 and Hollywood began expressing interest in a potential film project about his life, Guzmán started corresponding with del Castillo via handwritten notes and Blackberry messages.

Their dialogue continued even after his daring prison escape this summer. Ultimately Penn found himself in the mix, reportedly using disposable phones and encrypted messages to set up his secret meeting with Guzmán.

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