Senior diplomat resigns after reportedly shoplifting $10 book

Ricardo Valero cited health reasons for his resignation

A Mexican diplomat has resigned, citing health issues, following allegations of shoplifting after a video of him attempting to steal from a bookshop circulated.

Ricardo Valero, Mexico’s ambassador to Argentina, can be seen on security camera footage picking up a book and hiding it inside the pages of a newspaper before tucking it under his arm in a popular bookshop in Buenos Aires.

The book was reportedly a biography of Giacomo Casanova, an 18th-century Italian writer, soldier and spy, and cost $10 (£7).

In footage of the incident, which took place in October, Mr Valero can be seen walking out of the store and being called by a security guard after the store’s alarms were set off.

Mr Valero said he “had no intention” of stealing the book, reported local news site Excelsior.

He was recalled earlier this month by the country’s foreign ministry amid backlash from the October allegation.

But two days after he was recalled, on 10 December, Mr Valero allegedly stole a shirt from a duty-free shop at Buenos Aires’ international airport.

The ministry accepted his resignation on Sunday.

Marcelo Ebrard, Mexico’s foreign minister, said on Twitter: “Ricardo Valero is a great person, he’s undergoing neurological treatment and I wish him a speedy recovery.”