The British ambassador to Mexico has been removed from his position after pointing an assault rifle at a local embassy employee in a car, according to media reports and a video circulating online.
The video, shared on the social media platform X, shows 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,” reads a post accompanying the video.
On Friday, the Financial Times reported that the ambassador had been removed from his post following the incident, which occurred during an official trip to the states of Durango and Sinaloa in April.
Mexico has long struggled with violence linked to the country’s warring drug cartels, with around 30,000 people murdered annually.
“We are aware of this incident and have taken appropriate action,” said a spokesperson for Britain’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
Benjamin‘s LinkedIn page indicates that his term as ambassador ended in May.
A biography posted on the United Kingdom’s government website notes that he “was UK Ambassador to Mexico between 2021 and 2024.”
Neither Benjamin nor the British embassy in Mexico responded to requests for comment.