CSI Miami star's gushing praise for drug lord

Kate del Castillo finds Joaquin 'el Chapo' Guzman more trustworthy than the Mexican government (Reuters)

One of Mexico's biggest television stars has sparked nationwide controversy after publicly informing the notorious drug baron, Joaquin "el Chapo" Guzman, that she finds him more trustworthy than her own government.

Kate del Castillo, who played a cocaine trafficker in La Reina Del Sur, a Spanish-language soap that has become a hit in both the US and Mexico and who last year appeared in CSI Miami, made the claim on her website.

"Today I believe more in El Chapo Guzman than in the governments that hide the truth from me even though it is painful," she wrote. "Mr Chapo: Wouldn't it be cool if you started to traffic in goodness?" To that end, she advised Mr Guzman, a billionaire, to use his wealth to provide: "cures for diseases, food for children in the street, alcohol for nursing homes."

Though roughly 50,000 Mexicans have died at the hands of drug cartels in recent years, many share her relatively benign view off Mr Guzman.