Mexico suspended relations with Ecuador after storming the embassy

Mexico suspended diplomatic relations with Ecuador after Ecuadorian police stormed the Mexican embassy and detained the country’s former vice president, Jorge Glas. This is reported by the Reuters agency.

The former vice president of Ecuador, Jorge Glas, twice accused of corruption, was hiding in the Mexican embassy in Quito. Last December, he arrived at the embassy and asked for political asylum. The Ecuadorian government later appealed to Mexico to enter the embassy and arrest Glas, but the police refused access. On Friday, April 5, the Mexican government decided to grant Glas political asylum.

The President of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, accused Mexico of “abusing the immunity and privileges granted to the diplomatic mission”, as well as “granting diplomatic asylum contrary to the generally accepted legal framework”.

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador called the arrest an “authoritarian act”, a violation of international law and Mexico’s sovereignty. He also instructed to suspend diplomatic relations with Ecuador.

In 2017, the former Vice President of Ecuador was sentenced to six years in prison on charges of accepting a bribe from a construction company in exchange for awarding it government contracts. He was released at the end of 2022. At the end of 2023, a new case was opened against him for misappropriation of funds. Glas himself claimed that he was being persecuted for political reasons.