A flag waving Mexican protester crashed the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony as he rushed the stage begging the winner to bring attention to Mexico.

Wearing a gray coat and holding up a Mexican flag, an unidentified man rushed the stage going toward Malala Yousafzai saying “Malala Mexico please,” Mexico’s Excelsior newspaper reported.

Yousafzai, the Pakistani girl who made headlines for her valiant effort in stopping abuse in the Middle East, along with Indian doctor Kailash Satyarthi were in Oslo Wednesday morning to receive the famed Nobel Peace Prize for their work.

The young man who rushed the stage was quickly removed by security personnel. However, the outburst immediately created fervor in Mexico, a country that has been subjected to worsening security conditions that allow drug cartels to rule over vast territories resulting in mass killings, kidnappings, rapes and other atrocities all over the country. These events are particularly more abundant in the border states while the Mexican government talks about progress.

Since September Mexico has been the topic of worldwide attention when a group of police officers, acting under orders of a town mayor, kidnapped a group of 43 students. According to information released by Mexican authorities, the students were then turned over to drug cartel hitmen who executed them thinking they may be rivals and incinerated their bodies.   

President Barack Obama spoke with Spanish language network Telemundo in a recent interview where he said that his government has offered assistance to Mexico in solving the crime adding that the “gruesome” crime “has no place in a civilized society.” 

Follow Ildefonso Ortiz on Twitter @ildefonsoortiz