Mexico cuts ties with Ecuador over embassy attack and former vice president’s arrest

Ecuadorian authorities arrested former Vice President Jorge Glass at the Mexican embassy on Friday night, prompting Mexico to suspend bilateral relations.

Glass, 54, has been twice convicted of corruption and has been holed up in the Quito embassy since seeking political asylum in December, a request that Mexico approved earlier on Friday.

Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador posted on X that police forced entry into the Mexican embassy in Quito before making the arrest.

Ecuador’s presidential office said in a statement the arrest of Glass, who served as vice president in Rafael Correa’s leftist government from 2013 to 2017.

Glass’s international lawyer Sonia Villa said by phone that his team is seeking help at the inter-American level from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the United Nations. Security Council and General Assembly.

A large military presence was present at the magistrate’s court in the Andean capital, where the former vice president was led away.

The arrest capped a week of rising tensions between Mexico and Ecuador, with Ecuador declaring Mexico’s ambassador to Quito persona non grata on Thursday, citing “unfortunate” comments by leftist President Lopez Obrador .

Ecuador claims the asylum offered by Mexico is illegal.

In a statement, Ecuador’s president accused Mexico of “abusing the immunities and privileges afforded to the diplomatic mission where the former vice president is based and granting diplomatic asylum in violation of traditional legal frameworks.”

López Obrador said he had instructed Mexican Foreign Minister Alicia Bárcena to suspend diplomatic ties with Ecuador, calling the arrest a “dictatorial” act that violated international law and Mexico’s sovereignty.

Shortly after, on X, Barsana announced the “immediate” suspension of diplomatic relations with the South American country, adding that embassy staff would return to Mexico.

Ecuadorian authorities had sought permission from Mexico to enter the embassy to arrest Glass, who was sentenced to six years in prison in 2017 for accepting bribes from Brazilian construction company Odebrecht in exchange for government contracts.

Glass, who has a preventive arrest warrant in connection with a separate corruption case, has complained that he is being persecuted for his political stance, which the Ecuadorian government denies.

Ecuadorian officials were angered this week by López Obrador’s comments about the South American country’s bloody election last year, in which one of the presidential candidates was assassinated.

Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa quickly faced escalating conflicts with drug gangs after taking office late last year, prompting him to declare a national state of emergency early this year and extend it last month.