The worldwide condemnation of Ecuador’s authorities for its choice to interrupt into the Mexican embassy snowballed on Sunday with extra presidents and different leaders expressing disapproval, shock and dismay.
The criticism got here as Mexico’s ambassador and different workers have been set to reach in Mexico Metropolis after departing Ecuador’s capital, Quito, on a business flight. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador severed diplomatic ties with Ecuador instantly after Friday’s raid, which worldwide regulation specialists, presidents and diplomats have deemed a violation of long-established worldwide accords.
Police broke via the exterior doorways of the Mexican embassy in Quito to arrest Jorge Glas, who had been staying there since December. He had sought asylum after being indicted on corruption costs.
The Spanish overseas ministry in an announcement on Sunday mentioned: “The entry by pressure into the embassy of Mexico in Quito constitutes a violation of the 1961 Vienna Conference on Diplomatic Relations. We name for respect for worldwide regulation and concord between Mexico and Ecuador, brotherly international locations to Spain and members of the Ibero-American group.”
A day earlier, the Organisation of American States in an announcement reminded its members, which embody Ecuador and Mexico, of their obligation to not “invoke norms of home regulation to justify non-compliance with their worldwide obligations”.
Mexico cuts ties with Ecuador after ex-VP Glas arrested in embassy raid
Mexico cuts ties with Ecuador after ex-VP Glas arrested in embassy raid
Alicia Bárcena, Mexico’s secretary of overseas relations, on Friday posted on the social media platform X that quite a lot of diplomats suffered accidents in the course of the break-in.
Bárcena mentioned Mexico would take the case to the Worldwide Court docket of Justice “to denounce Ecuador’s accountability for violations of worldwide regulation.” She additionally recalled Mexican diplomats.
On Saturday, Glas was taken from the legal professional basic’s workplace in Quito to the port metropolis of Guayaquil, the place he’ll stay in custody at a maximum-security jail. Individuals who had gathered outdoors the prosecutor’s workplace yelled “energy” as he left with a convoy of police and navy autos.
Glas’ lawyer, Sonia Vera, informed Related Press that officers broke into his room and he resisted after they tried to place his palms behind his again. She mentioned the officers then “knocked him to the ground, kicked him within the head, within the backbone, within the legs, the palms”, and when he “couldn’t stroll, they dragged him out”.
Vera mentioned the defence workforce was not allowed to talk to Glas whereas he was on the prosecutor’s workplace, and it’s now working to file a habeas corpus petition.
Authorities are investigating Glas over alleged irregularities throughout his administration of reconstruction efforts following a strong earthquake in 2016 that killed lots of of individuals. He was convicted on bribery and corruption costs in different circumstances.
Ecuador’s Overseas Minister Gabriela Sommerfeld on Saturday informed reporters that the choice to enter the embassy was made by President Daniel Noboa after contemplating Glas’ “imminent flight danger” and exhausting all prospects for diplomatic dialogue with Mexico.
Mexico granted Glas asylum hours earlier than the raid. Sommerfeld mentioned “it isn’t authorized to grant asylum to individuals convicted of frequent crimes and by competent courts”.
Noboa turned Ecuador’s president final 12 months because the nation battled unprecedented crime tied to drug trafficking. He declared the nation in an “inside armed battle” in January and designated 20 drug-trafficking gangs as terrorist teams that the navy had authorisation to “neutralise” inside the bounds of worldwide humanitarian regulation.
Will Freeman, a fellow of Latin American research on the Council on Overseas Relations, mentioned the choice to ship police to Mexico’s embassy raises considerations over the steps Noboa is keen to take to get reelected. His tenure ends in 2025 as he was solely elected to complete the time period of former President Guillermo Lasso.
“I actually hope Noboa isn’t turning extra in a Bukele route,” Freeman mentioned, referring to El Salvador President Nayib Bukele, whose tough-on-crime insurance policies have been closely criticised by human rights organisations. “That’s to say, much less respectful of rule of regulation with a view to get a lift to his reputation forward of the elections.”
Freeman added that whether or not Glas was abusing diplomatic safety is a “separate subject” from the choice to ship police to the embassy.
“We see a sample of that in Latin America with politicians abusing embassies and overseas jurisdictions, to not flee prosecution however to flee accountability,” he mentioned.
Ecuador regains management of prisons amid battle on drug gangs
Ecuador regains management of prisons amid battle on drug gangs
The Mexican embassy in Quito remained underneath heavy police guard after the raid – the boiling level of current tensions between Mexico and Ecuador.
Vera, Glas’ lawyer, mentioned she fears “one thing might occur” to him whereas in custody contemplating the observe document of the nation’s jail amenities, the place lots of of individuals have died throughout violent riots over the previous few years. These killed whereas in custody embody some suspects in final 12 months’s assassination of a presidential candidate.
“In Ecuador, going to jail is virtually a demise sentence,” Vera mentioned. “We contemplate that the worldwide political and authorized individual chargeable for the lifetime of Jorge Glas is President Daniel Noboa Azín.”