The British ambassador to Mexico resigned earlier this year after reportedly pointing a gun at a local embassy staff member.
The Financial Times initially reported on a video posted on social media showing Jon Benjamin aiming a rifle at another man while looking down at the weapon’s sights.
Its title is: “In [the] He dared to joke against the backdrop of Mexican drug traffickers killing people every day.
Mr Benjamin has so far not commented on the joke, which appears to have gone horribly wrong.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has yet to issue a formal statement on Mr Benjamin’s position. But he is no longer listed as ambassador to Mexico on the government’s official website, which lists his term as “2021 to 2024.”
In the video, a man resembling Mr Benjamin can be seen moving the weapon around the car, targeting different people. Laughter can be heard in the background. As the weapon was aimed at a man, he made a gesture of discomfort.
Mr. Benjamin, who had previously served in places including Ghana and Chile, arrived in Mexico with a reputation that, by the standards of most British diplomats, was highly unconventional.
He is very active on social media and has a large following on X. This is a more approachable and less stuffy image than other ambassadors.
In Mexico, as in most of his previous posts, Mr. Benjamin is a firm believer in the soft power of British rock and indie music. An avid music fan, he encouraged major British bands and artists to visit Mexico, sometimes hosting them at his residence before concerts.
For example, he was the Rolling Stones’ primary liaison within the FCDO for decades, helping the supergroup negotiate the complex paperwork of hosting live events around the world.
Since taking office in 2021, he has shown a fascination and active involvement in Mexico and has traveled to many of the country’s 32 states. The incident occurred while his crew was on one of their trips to the cartel-controlled states of Sinaloa and Durango.
More than 30,000 people were murdered in Mexico last year. The country has extremely strict gun laws and has only one gun store, located on a military base in Mexico City.
At a time when Mexico is experiencing so many murders due to drug-related violence every year, the ambassador was caught waving a gun at his team, striking a nerve among affected embassy staff and many Mexicans.
Even if it was meant as a joke, the fact that this incident in one of Mexico’s most dangerous areas was carried out with an apparently loaded machine gun was a gross miscarriage of justice.
What was supposed to be a routine trip to northern Mexico seemed to bring an ignominious end to his long and distinguished career with FCDO.
A spokesman for the FCDO said: “We are aware of the incident and have taken appropriate action.
“When internal issues do arise, FCDO has robust human resources processes in place to resolve them.”
The BBC has contacted Mr Benjamin for comment.
