British ambassador to Mexico sacked after pointing gun at staff

Diplomat Jon Benjamin pointed assault rifle at an employee in a car

Former British ambassador to Mexico Jon Benjamin points a semi-automatic weapon at a Mexican staff member. Photograph: Subdiplomatic/X
Former British ambassador to Mexico Jon Benjamin points a semi-automatic weapon at a Mexican staff member. Photograph: Subdiplomatic/X

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.

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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