UK ambassador left post after ‘pointing gun at staff’
The UK ambassador to Mexico reportedly left his position earlier this year after allegedly pointing a gun at a local embassy staff member.
A video, first reported by the Financial Times and shared on social media, shows Jon Benjamin aiming a rifle at another individual while peering down the weapon’s sights. The video was captioned: “In [the] context of daily killings in Mexico by drug dealers, he dares to joke.”
Mr. Benjamin has not commented on what appears to have been a poorly judged attempt at humor.
No official statement regarding Mr. Benjamin’s departure has been made by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). However, he is no longer listed as the ambassador to Mexico on the government’s official website, which notes he served from 2021 to 2024.
In the video, a man resembling Mr. Benjamin is seen moving a weapon around a car, aiming it at various people. Laughter can be heard in the background, and one man is visibly uncomfortable as the weapon is pointed at him.
Mr. Benjamin arrived in Mexico with a reputation for being unconventional, following previous postings in Ghana and Chile. He was highly active on social media, especially on X, where he engaged directly with followers on topics he was passionate about, such as African politics, football, and rock music, fostering a more relatable and less formal image than typically associated with diplomats.
In Mexico, as in most of his previous postings, Mr Benjamin was a firm believer in the role of the soft power of British rock and indie music. An avid music fan himself, he encouraged major UK bands and artists to visit Mexico, sometimes hosting them in his residence ahead of their concerts.
For decades, for example, he was the Rolling Stones’ chief point of contact within the FCDO, helping the supergroup to negotiate the tangled paperwork of performing live events around the world.
He always appeared fascinated and well-engaged in Mexico from the start of his posting in 2021, travelling to many of its 32 states. It was on one of those trips, to the drug-cartel controlled states of Sinaloa and Durango, that the incident with his staff took place.
Over 30,000 people were murdered in Mexico last year. The country has extremely restrictive gun laws, and is home to only one gun shop, housed in a Mexico City military complex.
That the ambassador was seen to brandish a gun at his team amid so many annual murders from drug-related violence in Mexico has struck even more of a nerve among the embassy staff affected – and many Mexicans.
Even if intended as a joke, that it took place with an apparently loaded machine gun in one of the most dangerous regions of Mexico was a serious miscalculation.
What was supposed to be a routine trip to northern Mexico has seemingly brought an ignominious end to a very long and otherwise distinguished career in the FCDO.
The FCDO told the Financial Times: “We are aware of this incident and have taken appropriate action.
“Where internal issues do arise the FCDO has robust HR processes to address them.”
The BBC has contacted Mr Benjamin and the FCDO for comment.
