Current:Home > MarketsMexico's president says country will break diplomatic ties with Ecuador -Prosperity Pathways
Mexico's president says country will break diplomatic ties with Ecuador
View
Date:2025-04-21 11:01:37
QUITO, ECUADOR - The Mexican president has quickly moved to break off diplomatic ties with Ecuador after police broke into the Mexican Embassy to arrest a former vice president who had sought political asylum there after being indicted on corruption charges.
In an extraordinarily unusual move, Ecuadorian police forced their way into the embassy in the capital, Quito, to arrest Jorge Glas, who had been residing there since December. Police broke through the external doors of the Mexican diplomatic headquarters in the Ecuadorian capital and entered the main patio to get Glas.
On Saturday, he was taken from the attorney general's office to a detention facility in an armored vehicle followed by a convoy of military and police vehicles. People who had gathered outside the prosecutor's office yelled "strength" as the vehicles began to move.
The raid prompted Mexico's President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to announce the break of diplomatic relations with Ecuador Friday evening.
Venezuela issued a statement on Saturday supporting Mexico, condemning Ecuador, and said "we urge the international community to take measures against these reprehensible acts that threaten the integrity and full stability of Latin America as a zone of peace."
Glas has been convicted on bribery and corruption charges. Ecuadorian authorities are still investigating more allegations against him.
"This is not possible. It cannot be. This is crazy," Roberto Canseco, head of the Mexican consular section in Quito, told local press while standing outside the embassy. "I am very worried because they could kill him. There is no basis to do this. This is totally outside the norm."
Defending its decision, Ecuador's presidency said in a statement: "Ecuador is a sovereign nation and we are not going to allow any criminal to stay free."
López Obrador fired back, calling Glas' detention an "authoritarian act" and "a flagrant violation of international law and the sovereignty of Mexico."
Alicia Bárcena, Mexico's secretary of foreign relations, posted on the social platform X that a number of diplomats suffered injuries during the break-in, adding that it violated the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. She also said on Saturday that embassy staff left Ecuador and returned to Mexico on commercial flights.
Diplomatic premises are considered "inviolable" under the Vienna treaties and local law enforcement agencies are not allowed to enter without the permission of the ambassador. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange lived inside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London for seven years because British police could not enter to arrest him.
Bárcena said that Mexico would take the case to the International Court of Justice "to denounce Ecuador's responsibility for violations of international law." She also said Mexican diplomats were only waiting for the Ecuadorian government to offer the necessary guarantees for their return home.
Ecuador's Foreign Ministry and Ecuador's Ministry of the Interior did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Mexican Embassy in Quito remained under heavy police guard late Friday.
A day earlier, tensions between the two countries escalated after Mexico's president made statements that Ecuador considered "very unfortunate" about last year's election, won by Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa.
In reaction, the Ecuadorian government declared the Mexican ambassador persona non grata.
- In:
- Mexico
- Ecuador
veryGood! (39)
Related
- South Korea's acting president moves to reassure allies, calm markets after Yoon impeachment
- Candace Cameron Bure's Son Lev Is Married
- Burned remnants of prized Jackie Robinson statue found after theft from public park in Kansas
- Bills promote linebackers coach Bobby Babich to become new defensive coordinator
- Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
- Where are the nation’s primary care providers? It’s not an easy answer
- ChatGPT violated European privacy laws, Italy tells chatbot maker OpenAI
- Iran executes 4 convicted of plotting with Israeli intelligence to attack defense factory, state media say
- Current, future North Carolina governor’s challenge of power
- Andrew Tate loses his appeal to ease judicial restrictions as human trafficking case continues
Ranking
- Most popular books of the week: See what topped USA TODAY's bestselling books list
- Watch the moment an elderly woman's uncontrollable tremors stop as she pets a therapy pony
- Powerball winning numbers for January 29 drawing: Jackpot rises to $188 million
- Republican lawmakers in Kentucky offer legislation to regulate adult-oriented businesses
- Taylor Swift makes surprise visit to Kansas City children’s hospital
- Justice Dept indicts 3 in international murder-for-hire plot targeting Iranian dissident living in Maryland
- Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan sentenced to 14 years in prison for corruption
- Justice Department investigating Democratic Rep. Cori Bush over alleged misuse of campaign funds
Recommendation
Former Syrian official arrested in California who oversaw prison charged with torture
Indiana man agrees to plead guilty to killing teenage girl who worked for him
Citibank failed to protect customers from fraud, New York alleges
Lionel Richie Knows What Pregnant Sofia Richie Won't Be Naming Her Baby Girl
Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
Why The Golden Bachelor Ladies Had a Lot of Advice for Bachelor Joey Graziadei
Oregon lawmaker suggests non-Christians are unfit for elected office
Toyota warns drivers of 50,000 cars to stop driving immediately and get repairs: See models affected