Mexico City, Mexico

Mexican senators came to blows Wednesday after a heated debate over alleged opposition calls for the United States to intervene militarily against drug cartels.

Lawmaker Alejandro Moreno, leader of the opposition PRI party, went to the podium as Wednesday's session ended and angrily confronted Senate president Gerardo Fernandez Norona, of the ruling Morena party, for not being given the floor.

Moreno can be seen in a video posted on social media by Mexico's Senate pushing Fernandez Norona several times, slapping him on the neck and pushing another man to the ground when he tried to intervene.

The brawl followed a heated debate during which the opposition PRI and PAN were accused of calling for US military intervention, a claim that both parties deny.

Norona said later he would file a complaint against Moreno for bodily harm and request that his legislative immunity be revoked.

"The debate could be very harsh, very bitter, very strong... today when (opposition legislators) are exposed for their treason, they lose their minds because they were exposed," he said.

Moreno accused Norona of initiating the attack, saying on social media platform X: "He was the one who started the attack; he did it because he couldn't silence us with arguments."

Both senators are involved in separate controversies.

Moreno faces possible impeachment proceedings for alleged corruption during his tenure as governor of Campeche state from 2015 to 2019.

Norona has been criticized over reports that he owns an expensive house at a time when Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has urged public officials to live modestly.

US media reported this month that President Donald Trump had directed the Pentagon to use military force against Latin American drug cartels deemed terrorist organizations.

For its part, Mexico stressed that it "would not accept the participation of US military forces on our territory."

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© Agence France-Presse