"They knocked me to the ground, like criminals, and they broke into the Mexican embassy in Ecuador. Roberto Canseco, the head of the Mexican embassy in Ecuador, was pushed down while trying to stop the Ecuadorian police who broke in. The Ecuadorian police operation on the evening of April 5 local time was to "arrest former Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge Glas (Jorge Glas), who sought political asylum in the museum." Glass had previously been sentenced to prison for embezzlement. Mexico believes that "the forced entry into the embassy by the Ecuadorian police violated Mexico's national sovereignty". The incident exacerbated tensions between the two countries, leading to Mexico's decision to suspend diplomatic relations with Ecuador. This has also worsened the already tense relations between Latin American countries.
Breaking off diplomatic relations
This "break-in" by the Ecuadorian police is extremely rare in diplomatic relations. Under the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, an embassy in another country is permitted to be used as a place of refuge, and the police of the host country are generally not allowed to enter the embassy without the permission of the diplomatic staff of the embassy. Carolina Jiménez Sandoval, president of the Washington office for Latin American Studies, explains: "There are only very few cases in which a host government is able to enter a diplomatic space without permission, and mainly when the host country is under a military or authoritarian government." Sandoval added: "The 'break-in' did cross a red line under international law. ”
According to a statement from the Office of the President of Ecuador, the operation was carried out to arrest former Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge Grass, who was sentenced to prison for corruption. The Ecuadorian president's office also said that the Ecuadorian police had issued an arrest warrant for Glass. Glass has been staying at the Mexican embassy in Quito, Ecuador's capital, since December. Earlier in the day of the arrest, Mexico had decided to grant him political asylum. "The arrest was made because Mexico abused the immunity and privileges conferred by diplomatic missions and that granting asylum to Grasse was contrary to the conventional legal framework," explained the Office of the President of Ecuador. ”
Although it is difficult to immediately confirm the exact circumstances of the arrest, footage shared by Ecuadorian news media shows some of the circumstances: the police dispersed onlookers and drove out of the embassy in two black sedans with sirens blaring. The head of the Mexican embassy, Česeco, was seen shouting "no!!" before the police pushed him down. Mr. Canseco told the media that he was about to leave the embassy when he suddenly saw "policemen, thieves, who broke into the embassy at night." He tried to stop the intruders from entering. "They beat me, I was knocked to the ground, like criminals, they broke into the embassy," he said. ”
Shortly after Glass's arrest, Mexican President López Obrador issued a statement calling the incident a "flagrant violation of international law and violation of Mexican sovereignty." "Ecuadorian police used force to enter the embassy," he added. "Mexico's foreign minister, Alicia Bárcena Ibarra, said that Mexico's diplomats were injured in the clashes at the embassy and that Mexico will appeal to the International Court of Justice. But Ecuador's foreign ministry said last month that it had applied for permission from Mexico.
The arguments between the two sides eventually led to a diplomatic crisis. On the evening of April 6, Mexico's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement saying that Mexico would withdraw all diplomatic personnel and their families from Ecuador. The first batch of 18 diplomats will return to Mexico by flight on the 7th local time. Meanwhile, the Mexican embassy in Ecuador will be closed indefinitely.
Ongoing tensions between the two countries
According to the New York Times, relations between Mexico and Ecuador have become increasingly tense over the past few months. This was partly due to the belief by the Ecuadorian authorities that Glass had entered the Mexican embassy as a fugitive. Since then, the two sides have been pointing fingers at each other. In early April, Mexican President Andrés López Obrador questioned the legitimacy of Ecuador's latest presidential election. This has further deteriorated relations between the two countries. On April 4, the Ecuadorian government forced the Mexican ambassador to Ecuador, Raquel Serur Smeke, to leave the country and declared her persona non grata. Mexico condemned the Ecuadorian government's decision and granted asylum to Grasse the following day.
Glass was vice-president during the Rafael Correa administration from 2013 to 2017. He has been convicted twice in two corruption cases and is now facing new charges of misuse of public resources. He was initially sentenced to six years in prison in late 2017. The court found that he had accepted bribes from Odebrecht, a Brazilian construction company. The company traded it for a project contract from the Ecuadorian government. Glass was sentenced to another eight years in prison in 2020. This time it was for using contractor funds to support Correa's political campaign. Correa, who lives in Belgium, was also found guilty in the same case. The two have long claimed that the charges were politically motivated, but Ecuadorian prosecutors have denied the allegations.
Glass was released early in 2022 but was re-incarcerated that same year. The court ruled that he needed to serve the remainder of his sentence. He was released again in November 2022. But Glass then faced new charges. The funds he raised after the devastating earthquake in 2016 were misappropriated. His lawyer appealed in December, arguing that Glass's life could be in danger, but the court refused. It was this misappropriation charge that led the Ecuadorian authorities to obtain an arrest warrant and raid the Mexican embassy on April 5.
Relations between Latin American countries have deteriorated again
Diplomatic tensions have risen across Latin America in recent months. Colombian President Gustavo Petro expelled Argentine diplomats for insulting remarks by Argentine President Javier Milei, but later allowed them to return to Colombia. Milley has also clashed frequently with Mexican President Andrés López Obrador and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
The Ecuadorian invasion of the embassy also escalated the tensions. On April 6, the Nicaraguan government also announced the suspension of diplomatic relations with Ecuador, calling the arrests "neo-fascist political barbarism." Governments across Latin American political persuasion have strongly condemned Glass's arrest, including Brazil and Colombia on the left, and Argentina and Uruguay on the right. The Brazilian government condemned Ecuador's actions as a "clear violation" of international norms, while Argentina called on all parties to abide by the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. The Organization of American States (OAS) also condemned the conflict between the two countries and called on them to abandon the practice of "using force to resolve the conflict".
Mexico's foreign ministry said it would file a complaint with the U.N.'s International Court of Justice, while left-wing Colombian President Petro's government said it would seek the International Commission on Human Rights to protect Grass's right to asylum, saying it had been "brutally violated." The Washington-based Organization of American States (OAS) said it would convene a meeting of its permanent council to discuss the need for strict compliance with international treaties.
News sources: Reuters, The New York Times, The Guardian, some pictures from the Internet
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