The President of Mexico announced the severance of diplomatic relations with Ecuador after the storming of the embassy. What happened at the diplomatic mission?

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador instructed the head of the Republic's Foreign Ministry, Alicia Barcena, to sever diplomatic relations with Ecuador.

The decision comes after police in the South American country raided the Mexican diplomatic mission to detain former Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge Glas, who “was a refugee and sought asylum due to the persecution and charges he faced.”

Jorge Glas was wanted on three convictions.

In 2021, the National Court of Ecuador sentenced the country's former vice-president Jorge Glas to eight years in prison on corruption charges. The case concerned fraud with contracts for the production of petroleum products.

This was the third conviction against Glas. In 2017, shortly after President Lenin Moreno removed him from office, he was sentenced to six years in prison in a corruption case involving construction firms.

This corruption scandal, known as the Odebrecht affair, became one of the largest in Latin America. Then Glas did not admit his guilt. In September 2020, he was given another eight years in prison in a bribery case.

On April 5, the Mexican government decided to grant political asylum to Glas, who was taking refuge in the country's embassy in Quito, where he arrived in December 2023.

Ecuador called the storming of the Mexican embassy a defense of national sovereignty

According to Mexican Foreign Minister Alicia Barcena, embassy diplomats were wounded and injured during the storming of the diplomatic mission by Ecuadorian police.

Diplomats will leave Ecuador immediately. In addition, Mexico will appeal to the International Court of Justice with a request to condemn Ecuador for violations of international law, the minister promised.

In turn, the Ecuadorian government confirmed detention of former Vice President Jorge Glas and called the storming of the Mexican diplomatic mission a defense of national sovereignty.

We defend national sovereignty, no impunity… after the abuse of the immunity and privileges granted to the diplomatic mission in which Jorge Glas was located and the granting of diplomatic asylum to him, contrary to the generally accepted legal framework, his arrest was carried out

administration of the President of Ecuador

The presidential administration added that Ecuador “will not allow any criminal to go unpunished” and affirmed “respect for the Mexican people, who share our feelings regarding the fight against corruption that affects our countries.”