The British ambassador to Mexico has been sacked after he aimed a loaded assault rifle at an embassy employee.
Jon Benjamin was visiting Durango and Sinaloa, two northern Mexican states ravaged by drug cartel violence, when the incident happened.
In a video posted to social media, Mr Benjamin is seen picking up a gun and pointing it at the colleague, who was travelling with him in an official vehicle.
Foreign officials visiting dangerous parts of Mexico typically travel with armed staff for protection.
Large swathes of the country, especially near the US border, and in southern Mexico, near Guatemala, are effectively controlled by the cartels and virtual no-go zones for the authorities.
The drug gangs frequently terrorise local populations, but it is rare for foreign diplomats to be targeted.
Mr Benjamin, a career diplomat with four decades of service, was dismissed in April, the Financial Times reported.
Video posted on social media
A five-second video of the incident was posted on X, formerly Twitter, this week from an anonymous account, apparently run by a disaffected embassy worker.
Mr Benjamin is no longer listed as ambassador on the UK Government website, and the embassy is now being led on a temporary basis by his former deputy.
The former ambassador is believed to remain an employee of the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office. He joined the diplomatic service in 1986, and has previously served in Ghana, Indonesia, Turkey and the US.
The Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office has been asked to comment.
Mexico has long been the scene of ferocious bloodletting as the cartels battle security forces and each other for control of the routes into the United States for cocaine, fentanyl and cannabis, as well as illegal migrants.
President Andrés Manuel Lopéz Obrador, who is nearing the end of his six-year term, vowed to reduce the bloodshed by addressing the social and economic root causes of the violence and avoiding violent shootouts with the cartels.
He calls that policy “hugs not bullets”. But critics accuse him of complacency, and even complicity with the cartels.
The UK and Mexico have long had friendly but not close relations. There is significant trade in the auto, food and drink sectors, and Mexico, especially its Caribbean beaches, is a popular destination for British tourists, especially in the winter.
Britain trying to strengthen ties with Mexico
Since Brexit, successive British governments have been trying to grow the commercial relationship with Latin America’s second-largest economy.
Mexico is a member of the CPTPP trade deal, encompassing 11 mainly Pacific countries including Australia and Japan. The UK joined the pact last year.
Whitehall has also been trying, since 2022, to negotiate a bilateral trade deal directly with Mexico. But limited progress has been made so far, in part because Mexico has been focused on its elections, in which the presidency and all 629 seats in both houses of congress are at stake.
Claudia Sheinbaum, a protégée of Mr López Obrador, has a huge lead in the polls and is widely expected to become Mexico’s first female president, following campaigns marked by widespread violence.
At least 20 candidates and another 40 party activists have been murdered as the cartels seek to influence the results, especially at the municipal level.