The British ambassador to Mexico has been removed from his post after he pointed an assault rifle at a local embassy employee in a car, according to media reports and a video of the incident circulating online.
The video, shared on social media platform X, shows the career diplomat Jon Benjamin pointing the weapon at a person whose face has been blurred.
“In a context of daily killings in Mexico by drug dealers, he dares to joke,” a post accompanying the video reads.
The ambassador had been removed from his post after the incident which it said occurred on an official trip to the states of Durango and Sinaloa in April.
Elon Musk leaves Trump’s club, yet he was never quite part of it
Trump v Harvard: University faces existential battle against an opponent that would have been unimaginable a few years ago
Lee Jae-myung: The man set to take over South Korea’s turbulent democracy
Exhibitions open in Damascus remembering suffering and sacrifice under Syrian regime
Mexico has long reeled from violence linked to the country’s warring drug cartels, with around 30,000 people murdered a year.
“We are aware of this incident and have taken appropriate action,” said a spokesperson for Britain’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. - Agencies
- Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Join The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
- Listen to our Inside Politics podcast for the best political chat and analysis
