The UK’s ambassador to Mexico has been sacked after he was caught on camera aiming an assault rifle at an embassy employee on an official trip through drug cartel heartlands.
Jon Benjamin, 61, was seen smiling before looking through the sight of the weapon and pointing it at the person sitting in the back seat of the diplomatic vehicle during an official trip to two Mexican states ravaged by drug killings.
The unidentified employee from a local embassy is seen gesturing to the camera as laughter is heard in the background.
Mr Benjamin, 61, is no longer listed as the ambassador on the UK government website, according to the Financial Times.
A video which purports to show the incident was posted on X/Twitter, by an anonymous user, who writes alongside the video: “In a context of daily killings in Mexico by drug dealers, he dares to joke.”
The account added: “Mexican staff members of the embassy are terrified of speaking up about these injustices because internal whistleblowing tools are broken and favour British diplomats. They are afraid to lose their livelihoods if they speak up.
“We are desperate for justice.”
Mr Benjamin was seen giving Liz Truss a tour of Mexico City in 2021 when she was foreign secretary.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has not officially announced Mr Benjamin’s position. However, the government’s official website states that he “was UK ambassador to Mexico between 2021 and 2024”.
According to the website, Mr Benjamin “joined the diplomatic service in 1986, and previously represented the British government in Chile, Ghana, Turkey, Indonesia, and the United States, during his 35-year career”.
The FCDO said in a statement: “We are aware of this incident and have taken appropriate action.
“Where internal issues do arise, the FCDO has robust HR processes to address them.”
Since mid-April, Rachel Brazier has been charge d’affaires at the British Embassy in Mexico City, a role where a diplomat serves as an embassy’s chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador.
Mexicans will vote on Sunday in a historic election shadowed by cartel violence.
With two women leading the contest, Mexico will likely elect its first female president — a major step in a country long marked by its macho culture.
The election campaign was marred by drug cartel killings On 14 May, gunmen apparently linked to a cartel shot and killed 11 people in a single day in Chicomuselo. On 17 May, five people were killed along with a mayoral candidate when gunmen opened fire on a crowd in the town of La Concordia, Chiapas, about 45 miles east of Chicomuselo.
At least 125 candidates have been killed throughout the country this year, according to the electoral violence tracker Data Civica, while even more have been threatened, attacked and kidnapped.
Cartels have expanded control in much of the country and raked in money – not just from drugs but from legal industries and migrant smuggling. They’ve also fought with more sophisticated tools like bomb-dropping drones and improvised explosive devices.
