Kate del Castillo glad to not testify in ‘El Chapo’ trial

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Kate del Castillo says she’s relieved she wasn’t called to testify in the New York trial of Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.

Del Castillo said she doesn’t regret arranging a 2015 meeting between Guzman and Sean Penn.

But the actress said the fallout kept her from visiting and working in her native Mexico for more than three years. She had to film the upcoming sequel to her 2011 telenovela “La Reina del Sur” outside of the country, she told a TV critics’ meeting Tuesday.

A double shot her scenes set in Mexico, she said.

Guzman is on trial in New York on drug and murder conspiracy charges that his lawyers say are fabricated.

Work has kept her from following the trial closely, del Castillo said.