Mexico Mishap Video
The officer in the Mexican Army you see in this video was imprisoned in a Mexican military jail for the infraction he committed.
This is a video from an event I did for the White House in Mexico City May 6, 1997. The video has train wreck qualities that only get better the more you watch. Even though I was there, I completely missed the incident; so I asked White House Television to put it on tape, not knowing how remarkable the video actually would be.
Truly, the more you know about the circumstances, the more compelling this video becomes, so read on before watching:
What you'll see is the commander of the Mexican Ceremonial Guard introducing President Clinton at the official state arrival ceremony in Mexico City. What you will also see is a proud man's life and career come crashing down in a dramatically human way as he actually forgets President Clinton's name. National Security Advisor Sandy Burger knew instantly that the man was in trouble, and had President Clinton immediately intervene with President Zedillo. President Clinton implored President Zedillo not to punish the man for such a minor gaffe. Appeals were made on his behalf at all levels of government because there were genuine fears that this man would be imprisoned and tortured, or worse, for humiliating his president and his country.
The more you watch this video, the more deeply you can feel this guy's pain. What's more, he clearly did not intend for anybody to see him react to what was a career ending moment; but his face and body language speak volumes. Humiliation and dejection are written all over his face, and as he walks away, his stride is that of an utterly defeated man whose proud military career is most certainly over--and his quality of life here on earth is most certainly in question.
As you'll see at the start of the video, the commander of the ceremonial guard briskly and proudly marches to his position. He then begins his introduction of President Clinton and that's where the trouble begins as he clearly forgets President Clinton's name. All he manages to get out is "William J.," ("William hota" in Spanish). He totally forgets that the President's name was "Clinton;" and after struggling for a few seconds, he just gives up and settles on "El Presidente de los Estados Unidos." A moment of glory for himself and his country devolved into abject humiliation in matter of seconds.
A year later, I ran into the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico at the White House and he told me that as far as they could determine, the man was in a military prison, and they had no idea when he'd be released.
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xm377: Putting him in prison and destroying his career for merely forgetting the President's name seems pretty extreme even for Mexican standards. Do you know of any sources that attest to this event? You mention that you received this info from the White House, could a lay man get this information to does one have to be an insider?
oscare76: that is not true i´m a military lawyer in mexico, but he is´t in jail he had a error but he just was arrested for some days like a punish for this error.
Author: PolsPublic2009; Uploaded: Nov 10, 2009; Duration: 1:31; Views: 85
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