Mexico to deport U.S. citizen suspected of supporting 'violent jihad'

MEXICO CITY, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Mexican authorities arrested a U.S. citizen suspected of supporting militant Islamists in an example of Mexico's security cooperation with the United States even as the two neighbors grapple with sharp disagreements over trade and migration.

The unidentified American man sought by Interpol was under investigation for supporting terrorist groups and will be deported to the United States later on Friday, the Mexico's attorney general's office said in a statement.

The man was detained at a migrants office near Mexico's border with Guatemala in the town of Huehuetan with the help of officials from Mexico's National Migration Institute.

The statement highlighted information from U.S. security officials stating that "the foreigner has probably expressed support for violent jihad and radical Islam on digital platforms."

Mexican authorities did not disclose when the arrest was made or any other details of the man's activities in the country.

The case comes as tens of thousands of mostly Central American migrants have been crossing through Mexico in an attempt to reach the United States, with President Donald Trump pressuring the Mexican government to do more to reduce the flow. (Reporting by Diego Ore; Writing by Stefanie Eschenbacher; Editing by David Alire Garcia and Leslie Adler)