Security forces in Ecuador raided the Mexican embassy on Friday (local time) and arrested former Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge Glas. Mexico severed diplomatic relations with Ecuador with immediate effect.
Mexican Foreign Minister Alicia Bárcena said they would appeal to the International Court of Justice.
Ecuador: Asylum violates agreements
Glas, wanted for corruption, had been staying at the Mexican representation in the Ecuadorian capital Quito for months. The Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs had announced that it would grant Glas asylum. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ecuador, South America, said at the time that this was contrary to international agreements. There is an arrest warrant for Glas for embezzlement and he is not allowed to leave the country.
Glass was Vice President of Ecuador during the second term of left-wing President Rafael Correa (2013-2017) – who has since been convicted of corruption and lives in exile in Belgium – and at the beginning of the term of his successor Lenín Moreno (2017-2021). ). At the end of 2017, he was found guilty of taking bribes in exchange for awarding government contracts to the Brazilian company Odebrecht. He was sentenced to a total of eight years in prison in several corruption cases. Two years ago he was released early due to the poor security situation in Ecuador’s prisons.
President Noboa persona non grata
Only on Thursday did the Ecuadorian government of conservative President Daniel Noboa declare the Mexican ambassador persona non grata. The reason was a suggestion by left-wing populist Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador that the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio in Ecuador last August had contributed to Noboa’s election victory in October.
Source: Krone
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