Mexico has decided to quickly sever diplomatic ties with Ecuador after police stormed the Mexican embassy to arrest a former Ecuadorian vice president who had requested political asylum in that country after being accused of corruption.
Andres Manuel López Obrador made the announcement on Friday night after Ecuadorian police forced entry into the embassy in the capital, Quito, to arrest Jorge Glas, who had resided there since December.
Glas, arguably Ecuador’s most wanted man, has been convicted on bribery and corruption charges and Ecuadorian authorities continue to investigate further allegations against him.
Police broke down the exterior doors of the Mexican diplomatic headquarters in the Ecuadorian capital and entered the main courtyard to arrest Glas.
“This is not possible. It cannot be. This is crazy,” Roberto Canseco, head of the Mexican consular section in Quito, told the local press at the doors of the embassy. “I am very worried because they could kill him. There is no basis for doing this. This is totally outside the norm,” he added.
Defending its decision, Ecuador’s presidency said in a statement: “Ecuador is a sovereign nation and we will not allow any criminal to remain free.”
López Obrador counterattacked, calling Glas’ arrest an “authoritarian act” and a “flagrant violation of international law and Mexico’s sovereignty.”
Alicia Bárcena, Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Mexico, published on the social platform X that several diplomats suffered injuries during the raid, adding that it violated the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
Diplomatic premises are considered “inviolable” under the Vienna treaties and local law enforcement cannot enter without permission from the ambassador.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange for seven years because British police couldn’t get in to arrest him.
Bárcena said that Mexico would take the case to the International Court of Justice “to denounce Ecuador’s responsibility for violations of international law.” He also said that Mexican diplomats hoped that the Ecuadorian government would offer the necessary guarantees for his return home.
Ecuador’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of the Interior did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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The Mexican embassy in Quito remained under heavy police surveillance late Friday.
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In reaction, the Ecuadorian government declared the Mexican ambassador persona non grata.
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