TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Mexican officials said that they are investigating the meeting held by then-fugitive drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman with actor Sean Penn and actress Kate del Castillo in October 2015 to discover if any crimes were committed.

Mexican Government spokesman Eduardo Sanchez, as reported by the Associated Press, said on late Tuesday, January 12, 2016, that the officials' investigation will be focused on possibilities of illegal activity rather than specific people.

"We investigate actions, we don't investigate people," Sanchez said as quoted by the Associated Press. "The attorney General's Office is investigating this event and others involving contacts that Joaquin Guzman had while he was on the run."

Carlos Barragan y Salvatierra, a professor of law at Mexico's National University, said that there would be little ground to prosecute Penn or Del Castillo, unless money or gifts were known to change hand in the meeting.

"If during the dinner El Chapo gave them money, or jewels, or he gave them money for the movie or any other transaction, they could be charged with money laundering," Barragan y Salvatierra said as reported by the Associated Press.

The professor also underlined that "meeting with a fugitive or criminal is not a crime, even if the law says we should report crimes, there is no punishment for not doing so."

In response to the controversial meeting, Penn clarified on Monday, January 11, 2016, that the actor "got nothin' to hide."

AP