Mexican senators brawl on camera during debate over US targeting cartels

A Mexican Senate session descended into chaos on Wednesday when two senior politicians traded blows following a heated debate over the U.S.’s involvement in the fight against drug cartels.

Video captured the explosive moment when Alejandro “Alito” Moreno, head of the opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), and Gerardo Fernández Noroña, the Senate president of the ruling Morena Party, violently shoved one another after lawmakers finished singing the national anthem to close the day’s session. 

The clash erupted after a tense debate, during which the Morena Party and its allies reportedly accused PRI and the conservative National Action Party (PAN) lawmakers of calling for U.S. military intervention in Mexico, a claim the opposing parties reportedly denied.

The issue has grown especially contentious following reports that President Donald Trump authorized U.S. military force against Latin American drug cartels designated as terrorist groups.

The Senate president said he plans on filing a criminal complaint against Moreno as well as three other PRI legislators involved, including Carlos Eduardo Gutierrez Mancilla, Alonso Erubiel Lorenzo and Ruben Moreira.

Fernández Noroña is also calling an emergency session Friday to propose expelling Moreno and the three other PRI lawmakers as a result of the scuffle, the New York Post reported.

Fernández Noroña and Alejandro Moreno did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.