The international community has reacted with outrage to the intrusion of Ecuadorian security forces into the Mexican embassy in Quito. According to his spokesman, UN Secretary-General António Guterres reacted “alarmed” to the incident Ecuador Former Vice President Jorge Glas was arrested. Guterres emphasized the importance of the inviolability of embassy premises; Any violation of this principle endangers “the maintenance of normal international relations,” said UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric.
Guterres has Ecuador and Mexico called for “moderation,” Dujarric continued. Both countries should “resolve their differences through peaceful means.” The US government also made a similar statement.
The Organization of American States (OAS) had previously heavily criticized Ecuador’s actions. “The General Secretariat rejects any action that violates the inviolability of diplomatic missions,” the OAS said. “We express our solidarity with the victims of the inappropriate operation at the Mexican embassy in Ecuador.” The arrest in an embassy violates the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, according to which the premises of a diplomatic mission are inviolable.
The day before, Ecuadorian security forces entered the Mexican embassy in Quito and arrested Glas there. Ecuador had previously asked Mexico for permission to enter the mission, but this was refused. The ex-vice president was sentenced to several years in prison for corruption.
After a new arrest warrant on other bribery charges, Glas complained that he was the victim of political persecution and fled to the Mexican embassy Quito. On Friday, the Mexican Foreign Ministry announced that it would grant Glas asylum. Ecuador denies Glas’s allegations and accuses Mexico of abusing embassy privileges and granting diplomatic asylum contrary to the usual legal framework.
Mexico breaks off diplomatic relations
After the embassy incident, Mexico severed diplomatic relations with Ecuador and ordered back all of its embassy staff. The Foreign Ministry in Mexico City announced that it would take Ecuador to the International Court of Justice for violations of international law. Nicaragua has now also broken off diplomatic relations with Ecuador. The government there accused Ecuador of “reprehensible” actions.
Glas, who has now been arrested, was once the deputy of Rafael Correa, the former president of Ecuador. Glas has already been convicted of corruption twice in Ecuador. Among other things, he received a six-year prison sentence in 2017 on charges of accepting bribes from the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht in return for awarding government contracts.
The international community has reacted with outrage to the intrusion of Ecuadorian security forces into the Mexican embassy in Quito. According to his spokesman, UN Secretary-General António Guterres reacted “alarmed” to the incident Ecuador Former Vice President Jorge Glas was arrested. Guterres emphasized the importance of the inviolability of embassy premises; Any violation of this principle endangers “the maintenance of normal international relations,” said UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric.