Brawl breaks out in Mexican Senate after debate on drug cartels
Global News
Alejandro Moreno and Senate president Gerardo Fernandez Noroña squared off as lawmakers were singing the national anthem.
Mexico’s Senate erupted into a brawl on Wednesday with senators throwing punches, pushing and shouting following a heated debate over alleged calls for the United States military to intervene against drug cartels.
Alejandro “Alito” Moreno, head of the opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), confronted Senate president Gerardo Fernandez Noroña of the ruling Morena party, as lawmakers were singing the national anthem to mark the end of the day’s hearing.
The tussle broke out after a debate about the presence of armed forces from other countries in Mexico, Fernandez Noroña said in a press conference after the fight.
In a livestreamed video, Moreno could be seen approaching Fernandez Noroña, reportedly saying, “I’m asking you to let me speak,” and grabbing Fernandez Noroña by the arm.
“Don’t touch me,” Fernandez Noroña reportedly responded.
That’s when the two began pushing each other, with Moreno knocking over a photographer during the fight.
Another lawmaker entered the scuffle, swinging at Fernandez Noroña as he tried to step away.
“(Moreno) started pulling on me, touching me, pushing. He hit me and said, ‘I’m going to beat the s— out of you, I’m going to kill you,'” Fernandez Noroña alleged.
Lawmakers from both parties said Sunday they support congressional reviews of recent U.S. military strikes against vessels suspected of smuggling drugs.
Hundreds more are missing following flooding and landslides in the past week, which killed at least 604 people in Indonesia, 366 in Sri Lanka and 176 in Thailand, authorities said.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other U.S. officials held talks with a Ukrainian delegation to further hash out the details of a proposed peace framework.