NEW DELHI: Mexico’s president declared that the country will break all diplomatic ties with Ecuador following an incident where Ecuadorian police forcibly entered the Mexican embassy in Quito to arrest former Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge Glas, who had sought political asylum in the embassy.
Ecuadorian police broke the external doors of the Mexican diplomatic headquarters in the Ecuadorian capital in Quito, detaining Glas, who is facing investigations into allegations of corruption and bribery.
“Ecuador is a sovereign nation and we are not going to permit any criminal to stay free,” Ecuador’s Presidency said in a statement after the arrest.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador condemned the act as a blatant violation of international law and Mexico’s sovereignty, leading to the decision to cut diplomatic relations with Ecuador.
The raid occurred shortly after the Mexican government granted Glas political asylum. The forceful entry into the embassy was in contravention of the Vienna Conventions on Consular Relations, and resulted in strained relations between the governments of Mexico and Ecuador.
Responding to the detention, President López Obrador characterized it as an authoritarian act and vowed to take legal action while promptly suspending diplomatic relations with Ecuador.
Roberto Canseco, head of the Mexican consular section in Quito, expressed concern over Glas’s safety, emphasizing the irregularity of the situation. The Mexican embassy in Quito remained heavily guarded by police.
(With agency inputs)