Ecuadorian police officers burst into the Mexican embassy on Friday to arrest the former vice-president of Ecuador, Jorge Glas, who had taken refuge there.
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Mexico announced, Friday April 5 in the evening, “immediate breakup” of its “diplomatic relations” with Ecuador, after Ecuadorian police officers burst into the Mexican embassy in Quito, the Ecuadorian capital, to arrest the former vice-president of Ecuador, Jorge Glas, who had taken refuge there.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador called the intervention a “blatant violation of international law and the sovereignty of Mexico”, in a message on. The Mexican Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alicia Bárcena, for her part mentioned “injuries suffered by Mexican diplomatic personnel” during the intervention in the embassy.
An illegal political asylum, according to Quito
Mexico granted asylum on Friday to Jorge Glas, who had taken refuge in its embassy since December 17 and was the subject of an arrest warrant for alleged corruption. Quito immediately qualified this decision as“illegal”.
The Ecuadorian government announced Friday that “Jorge Glas Espinel, sentenced to a prison term by Ecuadorian justice, was arrested and placed under the orders of the competent authorities”in a press release. “Each embassy has a unique objective: to serve as a diplomatic space with the aim of strengthening relations between countries,” explained the Ecuadorian Ministry of Communication, adding that“no criminal can be considered a politically persecuted person.”
The granting of asylum to Jorge Glas on Friday came the day after Ecuador’s decision to expel the Mexican ambassador, Raquel Serur. The latter was declared persona non grata following remarks by the Mexican president on political violence in Ecuador.