U.S. Reportedly Seeks Ouster of Mexico Envoy

The United States is seeking the removal of Mexico’s ambassador to the United Nations, Porfirio Munoz Ledo, diplomatic sources said Wednesday.

U.S. and Mexican officials are concerned that the matter could become another source of friction in the already troubled relations between the two governments.

Behind the move, the sources said, is Munoz Ledo’s involvement in a gun-wielding incident in New York a few weeks ago. They described it as “a fairly serious breach of diplomatic protocol.”

The United States has stopped short of making a formal request for Munoz Ledo’s recall, the sources said, because it does not want to make it seem that President Miguel de la Madrid is being pressured to remove an official from a key diplomatic post.

But it is understood that U.S. Ambassador John A. Gavin has expressed Washington’s concern to De la Madrid and Foreign Minister Bernardo Sepulveda.

The incident that prompted U.S. officials to act occurred April 5 outside Munoz Ledo’s Manhattan apartment. According to a New York City police report, Steven Goldstein of Scarsdale, N.Y., complained that Munoz Ledo shattered the windshield of Goldstein’s car by hitting it with a pistol because the car was infringing slightly on Munoz Ledo’s reserved parking space.

No charges were filed because of Munoz Ledo’s diplomatic status, the police said.

The removal of a friendly country’s diplomat accredited to the United Nations is a sensitive matter, and this case is regarded as particularly sensitive because Munoz Ledo, a former presidential contender here, has considerable political influence at home and is said to be resisting the move.

A Critic of U.S.

Munoz Ledo is a member of the governing Institutional Revolutionary Party’s liberal wing, which is traditionally critical of the United States. He has enthusiastically promoted Mexico’s support for Third World causes, particularly those aimed against the United States.

Upon his arrival in Mexico City on Saturday for consultations with his government, he told an airport press conference that Mexico has become the target of a “campaign of defamation” aimed at undermining its sovereignty.

Excelsior, Mexico’s leading newspaper, published his comments on the front page of its Sunday edition, reflecting Munoz Ledo’s political stature and the importance that some here attach to any suggestion of intimidation by the United States.

A Mexican government official observed privately that Munoz Ledo has “wrapped himself in the Mexican flag” in order to portray his defense of Mexican values at the United Nations.