MEXICO CITY: Mexico has severed diplomatic ties with Ecuador after Ecuadoran police raided the country’s embassy in Quito on Friday, resulting in the arrest of former Ecuadoran vice president Jorge Glas, who had sought refuge there.
Glas had taken shelter in the Mexican embassy last December following an arrest warrant issued against him for alleged corruption, a move denounced by Ecuadoran President Daniel Noboa’s government as an “illicit act.”
Mexico, citing a thorough analysis of the situation, had granted political asylum to Glas, who had served under leftist Rafael Correa from 2013 to 2017.
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador condemned the forcible entry of Ecuadoran police into the embassy, labeling it a “flagrant violation of international law and Mexico’s sovereignty.”
Foreign Minister Alicia Barcena confirmed Mexico’s decision to immediately sever diplomatic relations with Ecuador in response to the incident.
Meanwhile, Ecuador’s presidential communications department stated that Glas, who had previously served prison time for corruption in the Odebrecht scandal, was arrested and handed over to authorities after being sentenced to imprisonment by the Ecuadoran justice system.
Glas faces another arrest warrant for allegedly embezzling funds intended for earthquake reconstruction efforts in 2016.
Prior to the incident, Mexico had expressed concern over increased police presence outside its embassy in Quito, describing it as “harassment.”
