Mexico decided to release a Lebanese-born, British citizen after his arrest for alleged ties to terrorists, saying he had done nothing wrong.
Federal investigators said Amer Haykel was detained in the western state of Baja California Sur on Monday after US authorities provided information that he was linked to extremist groups believed to be tied to the Sept. 11 attacks.
But in a statement released late Wednesday night, Mexico's National Immigration Institute said it had confirmed that Haykel "doesn't represent any threat to national security, nor is he wanted by authorities in any country."
The statement said Haykel was in the process of being released from a Mexico City detention center. Mexican newspapers and television stations reported he had been freed.
Haykel was detained based on "an exchange of information with US authorities" and "in the context of a strategy of border security between Mexico and the United States, based on the minimization of risks for national security of both countries," the statement said.
Before his arrest, Haykel spent several days in the tourist resort of Cabo San Lucas, sleeping in a local fire station, according to those who met him. He told acquaintances he was a pilot who was wandering the world on a tight budget.
Haykel was arrested at the volunteer fire station of Todos Santos, a small town on the Pacific coast about 60km northwest of Cabo San Lucas that is known as a haven for US expatriates.
The state office of the federal attorney general's office said Haykel -- reportedly born Sept. 18, 1959 -- had spent time in the Cancun area on the Caribbean coast before coming to northwestern Mexico, initially to the state of Sonora and then across the Gulf of California to Baja California Sur.
Officials have long expressed concerns that terrorists might use Mexico or Central America to stage an attack on the US.
Since the Sept. 11 attacks, there have been a series of arrests and reports -- from Panama to the Mexico-US border -- indicating that terrorists might be in the region. But so far, there has been little hard evidence that anyone was linked to al-Qaeda or other terrorist groups.
Last week, Pakistani Arif Ali Durrani, 55, was arrested in the beach resort of Rosarito, across the border from San Diego.
A former US resident, Durrani was handed over to US officials, who charged him with illegally exporting parts used to cool fighter jet engines. Durrani has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and faces a trial in August.
Durrani served five years in prison for selling missile parts to Iran in the 1980s.
In July, a South African woman was arrested in Texas after she swam across the Rio Grande from Mexico.
The arrest of Farida Goolam Mahomed Ahmed, 49, led to speculation of terrorist activities at the border, but officials found no evidence she was linked to terror groups.
She was convicted of illegal entry into the US, making false statements to federal authorities and misuse of an altered South African passport. Authorities deported her in March.
Central American officials have also reported several alleged terrorist sightings or concerns -- including the theory that terrorists were recruiting from the region's violent gangs.
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