by Miceál O’Hurley
QUITO — In an alarming diplomatic development Mexico announced yesterday it was terminating diplomatic relations with Ecuador following their mission in Ecuador’s capital of Quito being raided late Friday evening. Ecuador had previously been refused permission to enter the Mexican mission to exercise an arrest warrant for Ecuador’s former Vice President Jorge David Glas Espinel whom had been granted asylum by Mexico based on claims of persecution.
A Week of Daily Escalation and Public Strain
Tensions between the two Central and South American countries were ignited Wednesday following comments by Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Speaking to the assassination last year of Ecuadorean presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, López Obrador compared it with the assassination of local election candidates tied to Mexico’s current election cycle. His comments made multiple references to Ecuador’s media being corrupt and attributing the victory of Daniel Noboa in winning Ecuador’s Presidency due to their efforts.
According to López Obrador, irresponsible media created and have since maintained a “charged atmosphere of violence” in Ecuadorian politics, saying Wednesday, “I’m talking about this so that owners of media outlets and those who are participating in these campaigns take responsibility”.
Ecuador released a statement saying it remains in “mourning” over Villavicencio’s assassination. In a rebuke directed at López Obrador, Ecuador expressed its commitment to the principle of non-intervention in the internal affairs of other countries.
López Obrador claimed a “female candidate” who had been leading in the Ecuadorian presidential contest had lost momentum when she had been wrongly accused of complicity in Villavicencio’s murder. Luisa Gonzelez, a leftist candidate for Ecuador’s presidency held policies closely aligned with those of López Obrador. Gonzelez lost a run-off election to Noboa in a closely contested race winning 48% of the vote to Noboa’s 52%. Noboa was sworn into office as President in November 2023.
Thursday, the very public spat between the two countries worsened when Ecuador called the comments made by Mexico’s López Obrador “very unfortunate”. In a robust move, Ecuador declared Her Excellency Ms. Raquel Serur Smeke, Ambassador of Mexico to Ecuador persona non grata. Ecuador’s Foreign Ministry ordered Ambassador Serur Smeke to depart the country “soon”.
Mexican Mission Invaded in Rare Move
Friday evening saw tensions further inflamed when Policía Nacional del Ecuador forces stormed the Embassy of Mexico located in the capital of Quito’s financial district to arrest former Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge David Glas Espinel, commonly known as Jorge Glas. Glas, who held the office of the Vice President between 2013-2017, had sought refuge in the Mexican mission in December 2023.
A Statement from the Attorney General Diana Salazar Méndez claimed Ecuador had attempted to use diplomatic channels with Mexico to effectuate an arrest order for Glas who was residing in their compound, “We confirm that the Foreign Ministry, through a diplomatic channel, has requested the permission of the Embassy of Mexico so law enforcement can comply with an order by the National Court of Justice of Ecuador to capture Jorge David Glas Espinel, who is inside that diplomatic mission”.
Yesterday, Glas was seen being transported from the Office of Attorney General by armoured vehicle to a nearby airfield. Tracking information showed the flight departed Quito for the port of Guayaquil some 265 miles south of the capital of Quito. Guayaquil is Ecuador’s largest city. Glas’ whereabouts and detention conditions could not be confirmed at time of publication.
Public Dispute Between Presidents Continues
The Office of President of the Republic of Ecuador, Daniel Naboa, used “X” (formerly known as Twitter to confirm the arrest of Glas at the Mexican Embassy. In response, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador also used “X” to call the violation of the grounds of the Mexican Embassy in Ecuador a “flagrant violation of international law”. López Obrador added, he intended to “proceed legally and immediately declare the suspension of diplomatic relations”.
The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961 and the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of 1963 guarantee the inviolability of diplomatic missions and consulates. Breaches of the Vienna Conventions are rare and constitute extremely grave consequences.
Speaking from outside the mission, Roberto Canseco, Consulate Head at the Embassy of Mexico to Ecuador in Quito, expressed his dismay at Ecuador’s brazenness, “This is not possible, it cannot be, this is crazy.” Canseco also expressed concern about Glas’ safety given the muscular and unlawful manner in which Ecuador elected to act in arresting him on sovereign Mexican territory, “I understand that yes, I am very worried because they could kill him; there is no basis to do this, this is totally outside the norm”.
Twice Convicted Former V.P. Sought Refuge at Mexican Mission
Glas took refuge in the embassy last December after Ecuador issued an arrest warrant against him for alleged corruption, according to media reports. His lawyer maintains he is innocent.
Glas was suspended from his office as Vice President by President Lenín Moreno on 3 August 2017. Under Ecuador’s Constitution’s Article 146, Glas was declared incapable of exercising his office for 90-days on 2 January 2018. Glas was formally stripped of his Office on 6 January. Ecuador’s Urban Development and Housing Minister María Alejandra Vicuña was formally sworn in as Vice President of Ecuador after the National Assembly voted to approve her nomination.
Glas was investigated and later charged with corruption relating to his having accepted bribes of over $13.5m to help the Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht illegally win public contracts. Ecuador’s top court had accepted a request from Ecuador’s Attorney General to place the then Vice President in preventive detention pending a possible indictment.
Glas was twice convicted of the crimes receiving a 6-year sentence. However, he was released in November 2023 having exercised a writ of Habeus Corpus. During his 40-day release under the writ, Ecuador continued to pursue further corruption allegations. Glas’ assets were frozen by the court last year and his uncle, Ricardo Rivera, who has also been indicted in relation to corruption charges, remains under house arrest.
Glas used his temporary release from custody to formally requested asylum from Mexico in December shortly after arriving at the Mexican mission in Quito. According to Glas’ request for asylum he was being subjected to political persecution by Ecuador’s Attorney General, Diana Salazar Méndez.
Mexico Granted Glas’ Request for Asylum
Speaking to a Mexico’s Milenio Televisión Saturday morning, Mexico’s Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Alicia Isabel Adriana Bárcena Ibarra, expressed her dismay at Ecuador’s decision to raid the Mexican mission in Quinto. According to Her Excellency Ms. Bárcena Ibarra, several Mexican diplomatic mission personnel were injured by Policía Nacional del Ecuador forces during the incursion into the compound. Mexico’s Foreign Ministry announced it will file a complaint with the United Nation’s International Court of Justice for “grave violations of international law”.
Speaking to the underlying issue of Ecuador’s request to execute an arrest warrant for Glas, Her Excellency Ms. Bárcena Ibarra explained that Glas had made a formal request for asylum. After what she described as an “exhaustive analysis”, including an assessment of the circumstance of the prosecution and continued accusations and the way Ecuador’s Attorney General was pursuing Glas, Mexico determined that he had met the standard for being granted asylum. Ecuador had been informed of the decision of the Mexican Government to grant Glas asylum well prior to the raid last Friday evening.
South American Nations Condemn Ecuador’s Raid
Yesterday, Brazil roundly condemned Ecuador’s raid on the Mexican mission as a “clear violation” of international law which prohibits violating the sovereignty of a foreign mission. According to a Statement from the Foreign Ministry of Brazil, Ecuador’s conduct, “must be subject to strong repudiation, whatever the justification for its implementation”. The statement also expressed Brazil’s solidarity with Mexico.
Nicaragua too announced it had severed “all diplomatic relations” with Ecuador on Saturday.
In solidarity with Mexico, Gustavo Petro, President of Colombia, wrote in a post on ‘X’ that Latin America “must keep alive the precepts of international law in the midst of the barbarism that is advancing in the world”. In a separate Statement, Colombia indicated it will pursue human rights legal protections for the now-detained Glas.
The Organization of American States (OAS) plead for the parties to engage in dialogue to resolve the serious and escalating dispute between Ecuador and Mexico. In a Statement the OAS indicated their intention to convene a session of the body’s Permanent Council to discuss the need for “strict compliance with international treaties, including those that guarantee the right to asylum”.
Speaking for the United States, Matthew Miller told the media the U.S. condemns any violation of the convention protecting diplomatic missions. In his Statement, Miller stressed the U.S. encouraged, “the two countries to resolve their differences in accord with international norms”.
