A session in the Mexican Senate turned chaotic on Wednesday when two prominent politicians exchanged blows after a heated debate regarding U.S. involvement in combating drug cartels.
Video footage showed the tense moment when Alejandro “Alito” Moreno, leader of the opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), and Gerardo Fernández Noroña, Senate president from the ruling Morena Party, aggressively shoved each other after lawmakers concluded singing the national anthem to close the session.
The confrontation arose following a heated debate, during which the Morena Party and its allies allegedly accused PRI and the conservative National Action Party legislators of advocating for U.S. military intervention in Mexico, a claim the opposing parties refuted, according to the New York Post.
The topic has become particularly contentious after reports that former President Donald Trump authorized U.S. military action against Latin American drug cartels labeled as terrorist organizations.
Politician “Alito” Moreno knocks down a cameraman during the Senate scuffle Wednesday. (Senado de la Republica)
The Senate president announced plans to file a criminal complaint against Moreno and three other PRI members involved, namely Carlos Eduardo Gutierrez Mancilla, Alonso Erubiel Lorenzo, and Ruben Moreira.
Fernández Noroña also intends to call an emergency session on Friday to discuss expelling Moreno and the three other PRI lawmakers as a consequence of the altercation, according to the New York Post.
Fernández Noroña and Alejandro Moreno did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
