The OAS and Latin American countries reject Ecuadorian invasion of the Mexican embassy in Quito

First modification: 04/06/2024 – 20:10

3 min

A diplomatic cataclysm broke out after the president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, announced the formal breaking of diplomatic relations with Ecuador after considering the invasion of its embassy in Quito as a violation of national sovereignty and international law.

In summary, what happened was that the Ecuadorian National Police broke into the Mexican embassy to arrest former Ecuadorian vice president Jorge Glas, 54, who enjoyed political asylum from the Mexican government and who is accused of embezzlement of public funds.

Glas, vice president between 2013 and 2017 with Rafael Correa (2007-2017) and then at the beginning of the Government of Lenín Moreno (2017-2021), was transferred this Saturday, April 6, to the La Roca maximum security prison, in Guayaquil.

The cascade of reactions began with the 22 governors of the states of Mexico and the mayor of the capital Mexico Citywho supported the breaking of diplomatic relations with Ecuador.

The governors, emanating from President López Obrador's party, demanded the guarantee of security and respect for the integrity of the embassies and diplomatic missions of Mexico, as well as that of their staff and the people who are in them, as as established by the Vienna Convention.

They also asked for the safe and agile return of the Mexican diplomats, who were attacked by the forceful entry of the Ecuadorian Police.

In addition, they expressed their full support for the measures that the Government of Mexico will adopt before multilateral organizations to denounce what they considered “an unacceptable violation of the norms that regulate civility in diplomatic relations between the nations of the world.”

The OAS condemns the actions of the Ecuadorian police

The General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (OAS), headed by Uruguayan Luis Almagro, joined in condemning the decision of the Ecuadorian National Police and reiterated the “obligation” that all States have not to invoke norms of domestic law to justify non-compliance with their international obligations.

Almagro urged “dialogue” between Mexico and Ecuador and anticipated that he will request a meeting of the organization's Permanent Council to address tensions between both countries and considered a meeting of the organization's Permanent Council, based in Washington, “necessary.”

The presidents speak out

The president of Bolivia, Luis Arce, condemned and described the irruption on his social networks as “unacceptable.”

According to the president, this revealed “not only the violation of international norms but also the impact on brotherhood and peaceful coexistence between the peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean.”

The Brazilian Government was also firm. The measure of the “Ecuadorian Government constitutes a serious precedent, which must be the object of vigorous repudiation, whatever the justification for its implementation,” stated the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brazil in a statement.

According to the Foreign Ministry note, The Ecuadorian Police operation violated the American Convention on Diplomatic Asylum and the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which provides that the headquarters of diplomatic missions are inviolable and that agents of the receiving State can only enter them with the authorization of the ambassador.

While the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its solidarity “to all the diplomatic staff of the Mexican Embassy in Ecuador” and requested that “this incident between sister nations, with which Chile maintains close relations and historical friendship, be promptly overcome.” “.

For her part, the president of Honduras, Xiomara Castro, described the irruption as “intolerable.”

And the Government of Uruguay deeply regretted the events through a statement from the Uruguayan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in which it explained that on March 28, Commemorating the 70th Anniversary of the Caracas Convention on Diplomatic Asylum, Uruguay highlighted the importance of this legal institute with a long tradition in Latin America and encouraged States to reaffirm and respect it.

Finally, the president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, called the police raid a “fascist act.”

This comment was made known minutes after the Venezuelan Government published a statement in which it repudiated the “excessive lack of modesty and common sense on the part of the Ecuadorian authorities.”

With EFE and local sources