The assault on the Mexican Embassy in Quito leaves its first effects felt in the thousands of Ecuadorians who are in the North American country. As of May 16, the Ecuadorian consulates in the Mexican capital and in Monterrey will close their doors after the breakdown of relations between both governments. It occurs a month after the presidential order to break into the diplomatic legation to capture former vice president Jorge Glas, who is being held in the La Roca maximum security prison, in Guayaquil.
The Foreign Ministry of Ecuador reported that as of Thursday the Consulate in Guatemala City, and those in Houston and Phoenix, in the United States, will be enabled to meet the requirements of Ecuadorians who live or are passing through Mexico. That means traveling three hours by plane to carry out a procedure or obtain a document. This option is for those who have a visa, work or study legally in the country. However, in the midst of the crossfire between Ecuador and Mexico, the first victims of the conflict are migrants who irregularly use the country as part of the route to reach the United States. The 1800-Migrante law firm warns of the problems it can bring for the most vulnerable groups. For example, when an arrest of Ecuadorians occurs in Mexico, “the Mexican authorities have the obligation to inform the consular staff of Ecuador,” explains director William Murillo, but without a consular office that represents the country, “how are we going to find out about those arrests?”
This problem arises when Ecuador is experiencing its second wave of migration in 15 years. The coronavirus pandemic and poor administrations detonated an economic crisis in the South American country where seven out of ten people are unemployed or do not have adequate employment. The crisis was aggravated by the insecurity facing the country, which has expelled 66,000 since 2023 to cross the dangerous Darien jungle in an attempt to reach the United States. On that route, more than 115,000 Ecuadorians have crossed Mexican territory irregularly since 2022, according to local authorities. Among these people, there are more than 20,000 children and adolescents who travel alone, under the networks of human traffickers.
The same doubts arise in cases of kidnapping of migrants at the hands of organized crime groups, such as the 95 Ecuadorians locked up near Tapachula, a Chiapas city on the border with Guatemala in March. The criminals took the buses in which the migrants sought to continue their journey north. Another procedure that would remain in limbo is the repatriation of bodies of people who have died in Mexican territory. Who is going to give the death certificates and exit permits for the bodies? Murillo asks. The lawyer explains that to repatriate a corpse, a family member grants special power to the consul of that country to make arrangements with the State. “Now who will be given that power?”
In an expansion of information, the Foreign Ministry has announced that “Peru will exercise the consular representation of Ecuador in Mexican territory,” says the press release published on Monday afternoon. “The Peruvian Government will support the management and care of Ecuadorians in a vulnerable situation who are in Mexico,” the document states without further details of how the procedures that the Ecuadorian consulate would normally carry out will take place, nor the times in which they will be carried out. they will execute. In addition, he reported that the 18 offices of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) will also attend to the requirements of migrants in that country.
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