Latin American governments rally around Mexico after embassy raid in Ecuador

Latin American governments, including regional heavyweight Brazil, rallied around Mexico on Saturday after its embassy in Ecuador was raided to arrest a controversial politician who had been granted asylum by Mexican authorities .

The arrest Friday evening of Jorge Glas, a former vice president of Ecuador, arrested on corruption charges, triggered a suspension of relations with Quito by Mexico City, with the government of Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador calling the diplomatic foray unusual and his arrest an “authoritarian” act as well as a violation of international law and Mexican sovereignty.

The government of Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa had argued that the asylum protections were illegal because of corruption charges against Glas.

Yet under international law, embassies are considered the sovereign territory of the country they represent.

On Saturday, governments across the political spectrum in Latin America – including Brazil and Colombia on the left, and Argentina and Uruguay on the right – sharply criticized the arrest of Glas, who had sought refuge at the embassy since December.

He could be seen on a video circulating on social media taken by a police convoy to the airport in the capital Quito, flanked by heavily armed soldiers. He then boarded a plane en route to a prison in Guayaquil, the Andean country’s largest city.

Photos posted on social media, including one posted by Cuba’s foreign minister, showed what appeared to be the embassy wall being scaled by armed police or soldiers. Reuters could not immediately confirm the authenticity of the photos.

The Brazilian government condemned Ecuador’s decision as a “flagrant violation” of international norms prohibiting such a raid on a foreign embassy.

Ecuador’s action against the embassy “must be subject to firm repudiation, regardless of the justification for its implementation,” according to a statement from the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which highlights Brasilia’s solidarity with the Mexico.

U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement that the United States condemns any violation of the convention protecting diplomatic missions.

The statement added that the United States encourages “both countries to resolve their differences in accordance with international standards.”

“FLAGRANOUS VIOLATION”

Mexico’s top diplomat, Alicia Barcena, said she was shocked by Ecuador’s incursion into the country’s embassy, ​​located in Quito’s financial district, calling it a “violent attack” carried out by police.

“Mexico reiterates its condemnation for the violation of the immunity of its embassy in Quito and the attack on its staff,” she said in a message shared on X on Saturday evening, adding that 18 people would return to Mexico on Sunday .

“(Mexico) reiterates that it will appeal to the International Court of Justice and all relevant regional and international bodies following this clear and flagrant violation of international law.”

Earlier in the day, she said Glas was granted asylum after an exhaustive analysis of the circumstances surrounding the charges he faces.

Also on Saturday, the Washington-based Organization of American States called for dialogue to resolve the growing dispute between Ecuador and Mexico, adding in a statement that a session of the organization’s permanent council would be convened to discuss the need for “strict compliance” with international treaties, including those guaranteeing the right to asylum.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro, meanwhile, argued in an article on

Petro’s government indicated it would seek legal human rights protections for Glas, now detained, according to a separate statement.

Glas, twice convicted of corruption, had been holed up in the Quito embassy since he requested political asylum in December, a request Mexico granted on Friday.

Ecuadorian authorities had unsuccessfully asked Mexico for permission to enter the embassy and arrest Glas.

In 2017, Glas, the former number two of ex-president Rafael Correa, also from the left, was sentenced to six years in prison after being found guilty of accepting bribes from the company Brazilian construction company Odebrecht in exchange for the award of government contracts. .

As he faces a new arrest warrant on separate corruption charges, Glas has claimed he is the victim of political persecution, a charge the Ecuadorian government has denied.