US man arrested with weapons and fake CIA ID not a US government employee, official says

MEXICO CITY — A U.S. citizen arrested in central Mexico over the weekend with a number of guns, tactical equipment and a CIA identification is not a U.S. government employee and carried a fake ID, Mexico’s security chief said Tuesday.

The man was arrested Saturday in Atlacomulco, Mexico state, an industrial city 80 miles (130 kilometers) northwest of Mexico City. An anonymous caller alerted authorities that an armed man was acting aggressively on an apartment balcony.

State authorities said at the time that he was wearing a helmet and a tactical vest, from which hung a rifle. He had a knife in his hand and a wound on his hand.

Mexico Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch said Tuesday that after checking with the U.S. Embassy, it was confirmed that he was “not an official nor public servant.” He is under investigation for weapons possession and authorities are investigating whether he is tied to an organized crime group.