The British ambassador to Mexico has been removed from the post after a video emerged online of him apparently pointing an assault rifle at an embassy employee.
The video, shared on X, shows Jon Benjamin pointing the firearm at a person whose face has been blurred out.
“In a context of daily killings in Mexico by drug dealers, he dares to joke,” reads a post accompanying the clip.
On Friday, the Financial Times reported the ambassador had been removed from his post after the incident, which reportedly happened during an official trip to the states of Durango and Sinaloa in April.
Both states have a high presence of drug cartels.
Mexico has a long history of cartel violence, with around 30,000 murders a year.
“We are aware of this incident and have taken appropriate action,” a spokesman for the UK Foreign Office said.
“Where internal issues do arise, the FCDO has robust HR processes to address them.”
Jon Benjamin. Pic Reuters
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Mr Benjamin’s LinkedIn page says his term as ambassador ended in May, and a biography posted on the government website for the United Kingdom notes he “was UK Ambassador to Mexico between 2021 and 2024”.
According to the Foreign Office 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 career”.
Sky News has approached Mr Benjamin for comment.
