Former Vice President of Ecuador Jorge Glas was apprehended by authorities on Friday evening after being “forcefully” taken from the Mexican embassy. This has led to Mexico’s decision to suspend bilateral relations with Ecuador. Glas, who had sought political asylum in December and had been residing in the embassy in Quito, was convicted twice for corruption, Reuters reported.
Mexico had granted his asylum request earlier on Friday. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador posted on twitter that police forcefully entered Mexico’s embassy in Quito before making the arrest.
What happened
The announcement came after Ecuadorian police officers forcibly broke into the Mexican embassy in Quito, detaining former Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge Glas, who was seeking political asylum there, as a diplomatic rift between the two countries deepened. Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, president, Mexico tweeted that police had forcefully entered Mexico’s embassy in Quito before Glas was arrested. The Ecuadorean president’s office said in a statement it had arrested Glas.
After Glas faced investigations related to the allegation, Ecuadorian police broke the external doors of the Mexican diplomatic headquarters in the Ecuadorian capital in Quito, as per insights from Reuters.
And the conundrum continues
“Ecuador is a sovereign nation and we are not going to allow any criminal to stay free,” Ecuador’s presidency explained on Friday night. In addition to this, when asked about the situation of Glas and if he was apprehended by public forces or not “This is not possible, it cannot be, this is crazy,” Roberto Canseco, head, Mexican consular section outside the embassy in Quito, explained. He also added “I understand that yes. I am very worried because they could kill him. There is no basis to do this, this is totally outside the norm.”
Furthermore, Lopez Obrador explained that he had instructed Mexico’s foreign minister to suspend diplomatic ties with Ecuador, calling the arrest a violation of international law and Mexican sovereignty.
(With inputs from Reuters)