Mexico Breaks Diplomatic Ties with Ecuador after Police Storm Embassy, Arrest Former Vice President

Mexico cut diplomatic ties with Ecuador following an unexpected raid on its embassy in Quito.

Ecuadorian police stormed the embassy to apprehend Jorge Glas, a former vice president who had sought asylum there after being indicted on corruption charges.

The unexpected use of force led to Mexico's President, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, announcing the severance of diplomatic relations.

Mexico intends to challenge this action at the World Court in The Hague.

On Saturday, Roberto Canseco, head of the Mexican consular section in Quito, expressed concern after Ecuadorian authorities raided the embassy and took away Mexican diplomat Alexis Arquimides Glas.

Glas was taken from the attorney general's office in Quito to a maximum-security prison in Guayaquil.

His attorney, Sonia Vera, claimed that officers broke into Glas' room and used excessive force when attempting to arrest him.

Glas reportedly resisted and was injured during the arrest.

There is no known reason for the arrest, and Canseco stated that there is no basis for it and that it is outside the norm.

Vera reported that the defense team of asylum-seeker Glas was denied access to him while he was at the prosecutor's office.

The team is now planning to file a habeas corpus petition.

Glas is under investigation for alleged irregularities during earthquake reconstruction efforts in 2016, and he has previously been convicted of bribery and corruption charges.

Ecuador's Foreign Minister Gabriela Sommerfeld stated that President Daniel Noboa granted permission for the embassy raid due to Glas' "imminent flight risk" and the exhaustion of diplomatic dialogue options with Mexico.

Mexico granted Glas asylum hours before the raid.

Sommerfeld added that granting asylum to convicted individuals is not legal.

Alicia Bárcena, Mexico's secretary of foreign relations, claimed that diplomats were injured during the embassy raid, which she considered a violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

Sommerfeld did not comment on injury claims.

Diplomatic premises are considered foreign soil under the Vienna treaties, and host countries cannot enter without permission.

People have sought asylum in embassies for varying lengths of time, such as Julian Assange's seven-year stay at Ecuador's London embassy.

The raid on Mexico's embassy in Austin, Texas, was condemned by leaders and organizations for violating international law and the right to asylum.

Honduran President Xiomara Castro called it an "intolerable act" and a "violation of sovereignty," while the Organization of American States reminded members of their obligation to uphold international law.

Mexico is taking legal action against Ecuador at the International Court of Justice, accusing Ecuador of violating international law.

This comes after Ecuadorian security forces entered Mexico's embassy in Quito to arrest an alleged drug trafficker.

Ecuador's President Guillermo Noboa declared an internal armed conflict and labeled 20 drug-trafficking gangs as terrorist groups, granting military authorization to neutralize them.

Mexico's Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard Bárcena recalled Mexican diplomats and expressed concern over Noboa's actions, which some see as a potential escalation ahead of his 2025 election.

Will Freeman, a Latin American studies fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, raised concerns that Noboa might be adopting a more authoritarian approach, similar to El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele, whose policies have faced criticism from human rights organizations.

A raid on the Mexican embassy in Quito, Ecuador, occurred as Mexican ex-vice president, Glas, sought diplomatic protection from potential arrest.

Freeman, a Latin America expert, expressed concern over this action, suggesting it disrespected the rule of law to boost popularity before elections.

The legality of Glas using diplomatic protection is a separate issue.

Freeman noted a pattern of politicians in Latin America misusing embassies to avoid accountability rather than prosecution.

The embassy remained under heavy police guard following the raid, and Glas' attorneys feared for his safety in Ecuadorian detention facilities, where hundreds have died during violent riots.

Some suspects in the assassination of a presidential candidate were among those killed.

A person in Ecuador going to jail is considered a serious threat to their life, according to Vera.

He holds President Daniel Noboa Azín responsible for the potential harm to Jorge Glas, an international political figure currently in jail.