The UK ambassador to Mexico was quietly fired earlier this year after a video showed him pointing an assault rifle at a local embassy employee in a car. The video, shared on social media platform X, shows diplomat Jon Benjamin pointing the weapon at a person whose face has been blurred. Meanwhile, a person can be heard laughing in the background.
It was captioned: "In [the] context of daily killings in Mexico by drug dealers, he dares to joke."
British Ambassador to Mexico, Jon Benjamin, points a semi automatic weapon at concerned Mexican staff member. In a context of daily killings in Mexico by drug dealers, he dares to joke. @DailyMirror@guardian@TheSun@TheEconomist@Telegraph@[email protected]/1obqgsNnTD
— Subdiplomatic (@subdiplomatic) May 28, 2024
According to Finacial Times, the incident occurred during an official trip to the Mexican states of Durango and Sinaloa in April. Though no official announcement was made, the ambassador was d from his post after the incident.
A spokesperson for the British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) told CNN Saturday, ”We are aware of this incident and have taken appropriate action. Where internal issues arise, the FCDO has robust HR processes to address them.”
Meanwhile, theUK government website also indicates that Mr Benjamin is no longer an envoy. His biography page reads: ”Jon Benjamin was UK Ambassador to Mexico between 2021 and 2024”. His position is listed under a section titled ”Previous roles in government.”
Mr Benjamin's LinkedIn page also says his term as ambassador ended in May.
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 35-year-old career''.
''He served as UK Ambassador to Chile (2009 to 2014), High Commissioner to Ghana (2014 to 2017), and concurrent Ambassador to several other neighbouring countries in West Africa. He was also Consul General in New York, representing the United Kingdom in Indonesia and Turkey. Among those overseas assignments, in London, he also headed the Human Rights department and was chief of staff for the Minister for European Affairs,'' his biography further read.
Notably, Mexico has a long history of cartel violence, with around 30,000 murders a year. The country has extremely restrictive gun laws and is home to only one gun shop, housed in a Mexico City military complex.