Mexico Ends Diplomatic Ties With Ecuador After Embassy Raid to Arrest Former VP
‘FLAGRANT VIOLATION’
Mexico announced it was cutting diplomatic ties to Ecuador after police forced their way into the embassy in Quito to arrest Jorge Glas who has been residing there since December.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced Friday that Mexico would cut diplomatic ties with Ecuador after Ecuadorian police stormed the Mexican embassy in Quito to arrest a former Ecuadorian vice president who had sought political asylum there after being indicted on corruption charges. “Police from Ecuador forcibly entered our embassy and detained the former vice-president of that country who was a refugee and processing asylum due to the persecution and harassment he faces,” López Obrador said on X. “This is a flagrant violation of international law and the sovereignty of Mexico.” Ecuador’s presidency defended the move saying, “Ecuador is a sovereign nation and we are not going to allow any criminal to stay free.” Glas served as Ecuador’s vice-president between 2013 and 2017. In Dec. 2017 he was sentenced to six years in jail after prosecutors said he took $13.5m in bribes. He sought refuge in the Mexican embassy in Quito when he was released from prison in November after Ecuadorian authorities issued another arrest warrant alleging further allegations of corruption.
