Jorge Glas, the former vice president of Ecuador, was detained on Friday when Ecuadorian police raided the Mexican embassy in Quito, where he had taken sanctuary after being charged with corruption. Numerous governments expressed their disapproval of the raid.
Following the raid on its embassy in Quito, which drew harsh worldwide criticism, Mexico announced on Monday, April 8, that it will file a lawsuit against Ecuador at the worldwide Court of Justice. As the two nations cut diplomatic ties, Mexican diplomats departed Ecuador on Sunday. Quito’s security forces had raided the embassy late Friday in order to detain a former vice president who was hiding inside.Foreign Minister Alicia Barcena stated, “Starting tomorrow we are going to the ICJ where we are presenting this sad case,” at a gathering to welcome the returning ambassadors. “We believe that we can win this case quickly,” she stated. Along with the head of the United Nations and several Latin American nations, Spain and the European Union denounced Quito for the operation, which it conducted in order to apprehend former vice president Jorge Glas of Ecuador.
In December of last year, Glas sought asylum there following the issuance of an arrest warrant for him due to allegations of corruption. Glas was given political refuge by Mexico on Friday; Ecuadoran President Daniel Noboa’s administration called this a “illicit act.” That occurred the day after Ecuador expelled the Mexican ambassador due to remarks made by Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the president of Mexico, that displeased Quito.
At least one agent scaled the walls of the embassy late on Friday, as Ecuadoran special troops armed with a battering ram encircled the building—diplomatic grounds are regarded as inviolable sovereign territory—in an extremely unprecedented raid.
A military jet was ruled out owing to the rising tensions, so on Sunday, diplomatic workers and their families departed Ecuador and returned to Mexico on a private airline. The ambassadors of Germany, Panama, Cuba, and Honduras, along with the president of the Ecuador-Mexico Chamber, escorted the officials and their families to the Quito airport, as stated by the Mexican Foreign Ministry.
The raid, according to Lopez Obrador, is a blatant infringement on his nation’s sovereignty. Additionally, Mexico has condemned the use of physical force against Roberto Canseco, the head of mission, who was forced to the ground by officers while attempting to stop the invasion. “There must be a way; it is not feasible. After the raid, a startled Canseco exclaimed to local television, “This is crazy.”
Regional governments from all political persuasions, including those in Nicaragua, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Peru, and Venezuela, have expressed their condemnation in large quantities. As a show of support for Mexico, Bolivia’s president, Luis Arce, said that his government had sought for an explanation from the Ecuadorian Ambassador present in Bolivia and had recalled its ambassador to that country.
The raid “alarmed” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, and the European Union, Spain, and Germany all released statements denouncing it as a breach of the Vienna Convention. According to the 1961 agreement, which governs international relations, a nation is not allowed to trespass upon the territory of an embassy. “Protecting the integrity of diplomatic missions and their personnel is essential to preserve stability and international order, promoting cooperation and trust between nations,” the European Union said.Lopez Obrador compared criminality in Mexico prior to the June 2 legislative and presidential elections with the election violence in Ecuador in 2023, which resulted in the murder of candidate Fernando Villavicencio. This analogy stoked tensions on Wednesday. The government of Ecuador denounced his remarks as disrespectful and declared that the nation was still “mourning” the death of Villavicencio, a ferocious opponent of corruption.
