E-Paper
Man gropes, tries to kiss Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum during public interaction
The incident, which was caught on camera, occurred in the city's historic downtown area while the president was speaking with citizens on the street.
A man who appeared to be in an inebriated state groped and tried to kiss Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum before a government official intervened in Mexico City on Tuesday.
The incident, which was caught on camera, occurred in the city's historic downtown area while the president was speaking with citizens on the street. In the video circulating widely on social media platforms, the man appeared to lean in for a kiss and touch the president's body with his hands.
While maintaining a calm, stiff smile, Sheinbaum gently pushed his hands away and turned to face him.
According to the Associated Press, she could also be heard saying in part, “Don't worry.”
Her security detail was not immediately visible in the close-up video.
The news agency said that Sheinbaum's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the incident.
Like her predecessor and political mentor, ex-President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Sheinbaum often engages with the public by joining crowds for selfies and handshakes.
According to AP, the Mexican President Sheinbaum has lately been addressing questions about political violence following the public assassination of a mayor in western Michoacan state.
Carlos Manzo, the outspoken mayor of Uruapan, was gunned down outside a church on Saturday night in the latest episode of the raging gangland violence in Mexico.
Michoacan is among Mexico’s most violent states, with ongoing conflicts among various cartels and criminal groups vying for control of territory, drug routes, and other illegal operations.
Sheinbaum has pledged to tighten security and intelligence operations in the wake of Manzo's killing.
