Mexican government officials have ordered actress Kate del Castillo to appear before a select panel to give testimony about her longtime association with recently recaptured drug lord Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán.

According to Yahoo News, del Castillo is scheduled to appear for questioning sometime next week. The 43-year-old actress is fingered as the one who helped Academy Award-winner Sean Penn broker his Rolling Stone interview with the reputed Sinaloa drug cartel leader.

After months of being on the lam following his daring escape from the maximum security prison where he was being held, Guzmán was recaptured on Jan. 8 in the northwestern city of Los Mochis.

Mexican officials have claimed his ongoing communication with both del Castillo and Penn aided authorities in ultimately being able to track him down.

In recent days, a slew of flirtatious text messages between Guzmán and del Castillo have also been made public, with one government official going as far as to insist Guzmán's "obsession" with the veteran telenovela star led him to lower his guard.

In addition, Mexican newspaper El Universal is reported to have recently published alleged text messages between del Castillo and Guzmán's attorney Andres Granados, in which the two appeared to be discussing the prospect of the drug lord investing in her tequila company, Honor del Castillo.

In one exchange, Granados writes, "Who knows (maybe) he's interested and you become partners," to which del Castillo reportedly replies, "Incredible!!!"

In Mexico, financial transactions carried out with funds found to be acquired illegally is considered a form of money laundering.

Since del Castillo resides in Los Angeles, she is expected to take the stand at the Mexican consulate in California. To date, Penn has not been publicly required to testify.

Among her many credits, del Castillo is well known for having once played a drug lord in the telenovela "La Reina del Sur."

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