Responding to a 9-1-1 call, authorities in México state disarmed and arrested a foreigner brandishing a gun and a knife in the city of Atlacomulco last week.
According to the official police report dated July 5, the suspect was standing on the balcony of an apartment complex wearing a helmet, a bullet-proof vest and tactical gear and was reportedly acting “aggressively” when police arrived.
Durante la intervención aseguraron 6 armas, cargadores, cartuchos útiles y equipo táctico. El individuo portaba una credencial con la leyenda “CIA”. pic.twitter.com/ZDK2kzujli
— Secretaría de Seguridad del Estado de México (@SS_Edomex) July 5, 2025
Determining that the suspect posed a threat to the community, state and municipal police officials surrounded the building and alerted the Special Reaction Force (FAR). The FAR entered the apartment and apprehended the suspect, who was taken to the hospital for treatment of a cut on his hand.
The suspect — identified by media as a U.S. citizen named “James” — was wearing what appeared to be a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) badge and was carrying a CIA credential, neither of which was confirmed as authentic.
Police secured and inspected the apartment, where they found and seized weapons, including four pistols, two 5.56 mm Colt assault rifles (known as M4 carbines), the knife, more than 100 rounds of ammunition, six magazines, several cartridges and tactical equipment.
The equipment confiscated was described in the police report as two tactical vests — one camouflage green and one black, each with two ballistic plates — two cheek pads and two helmets, one of them equipped with a digital camera, sidelight and goggles.
After being released from the hospital and read his rights, the suspect was turned over to the México state Attorney General’s Office which charged him with disturbing public order and possession of weapons exclusively for the Army.
The incident took place in the Las Fuentes neighborhood of Atlacomulco, a municipality of 110,000 in the northwestern part of México state about 120 kilometers from Mexico City. It was known as the political center of the “Grupo Atlacomulco” during the long-running rule of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), spawning a succession of governors and one president.
