Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has announced the suspension of diplomatic relations with Ecuador following a forcible entry by Ecuadorian police into the Mexican embassy in Quito and the subsequent arrest of the former vice president of Ecuador, Jorge Glas. This chain of events took place shortly after the Ecuadorian government’s decision to expel the Mexican ambassador as a response to statements made by López Obrador.
López Obrador has strongly condemned the assault, especially as Glas, who found refuge in the embassy, was recently granted political asylum by the Mexican government. The president commented on the event as “a flagrant violation of international law and the sovereignty of the State of Mexico”. Glas’ legal defense has been voicing his innocence against prior corruption charges and decrying the case as political persecution since 2017.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ecuador, on the other hand, had previously stated that Glas’ asylum was in contradiction with the provisions of the 1954 Convention on Diplomatic Asylum and the 1933 Convention on Political Asylum, which narrowly describe it as not lawful to grant asylum to persons who’ve been charged or are being prosecuted for common crimes.
Things reached a head after a flurry of controversialstatements by López Obrador regarding the impact of the assassination of former Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio on the Ecuadorian presidential election. This led to the Ecuadorian government declaring the Mexican ambassador in Quito persona non grata under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (1961).
The Organization of American States (OAS) has issued a press release expressing their opposition to any actions endangering the premises of diplomatic missions while calling for dialogue between Ecuador and Mexico. In light of the events, several countries, including Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil and Chile, have also condemned Ecuador’s actions.
More details on the saga, as it unfolds, can be found in this feature article.