QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Mexico is cutting diplomatic ties with Ecuador after police stormed the Mexican embassy in Quito to arrest a former vice president of Ecuador who had sought political asylum there after being accused of corruption.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador made the announcement Friday night after Ecuadorean police stormed the Mexican embassy to arrest Jorge Glass, who has been living there since December as the diplomatic rift between the two countries deepened.
Glass, perhaps the most wanted man in the country, was convicted on bribery and corruption charges. Ecuadorian authorities are still investigating more allegations against him.
Police try to break into the Mexican embassy in Quito, Ecuador, Friday, April 5, 2024, after Mexico granted asylum to former Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge Glass, who sought asylum there. Later, the police forcefully entered the embassy through another entrance. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)
Police stormed the outer doors of the Mexican diplomatic headquarters in the Ecuadorian capital and entered the main courtyard to take Glas.
“It’s not possible, it can’t be, it’s crazy,” Roberto Canseco, head of Mexico’s consular department in the capital Quito, told local press as he stood outside the embassy. “I am very worried because they can kill him. There is no reason to do this, it is completely out of line.”
Defending the 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 hit back, calling Glass’ detention an “authoritarian act” and a “clear violation of international law and Mexico’s sovereignty.”
Roberto Canseco of the Mexican Consulate stands at the entrance of the Mexican Embassy in Quito, Ecuador, after Ecuadorean police forcefully stormed the premises, Friday, April 5, 2024. The raid took place hours after the Mexican government granted former Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge Political Asylum A voice. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)
Alicia Barcena, Mexico’s secretary of foreign relations, posted on X, ex-Twitter, that a number of diplomats were injured during the intrusion, adding that it violated the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
Barcena said Mexico would take the case to the International Court of Justice “to condemn Ecuador’s responsibility for violations of international law.” She also said that Mexican diplomats are only waiting for the Ecuadorian government to offer the necessary guarantees for their return home.
Ecuador’s foreign ministry and Ecuador’s interior ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Mexican Embassy in Quito remained under heavy police guard late Friday.
A day earlier, tensions between the two countries escalated after Mexico’s president made statements that Ecuador considered “very unfortunate” about the recent election, which was won by Ecuador’s president, Daniel Noboa.
In response, the government of Ecuador declared the Mexican ambassador persona non grata.
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