Mexico breaks diplomatic ties with Ecuador after embassy arrest

Mexico cut diplomatic ties with Ecuador after law enforcement entered the Mexican Embassy Friday and arrested the former Ecuadorian vice president who had been living on the premises since late last year. 

The Ecuadorean police raided the Mexican Embassy in Quito, Ecuador’s capital, and arrested Jorge Glas, Eduador’s former vice president who sought asylum at the diplomatic building. Glas had been sheltered at the embassy since December. 

Glas had been sentenced to prison for alleged corruption and a warrant was issued for his arrest, according to Ecuador’s presidential office. Mexico granted Glas asylum earlier Friday. 

Mexican Foreign Minister Alicia Barcena announced the suspension of diplomatic relations with Ecuador, stating the move violated the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. She said the Mexican diplomats at the embassy sustained injuries during the raid. 

The arrest comes as tensions between the two countries have been simmering for months. On Thursday, Ecuador’s government said the Mexican ambassador was unwanted following Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s comments about Ecuador’s election that took place last year.

After the Friday arrest, Glas was taken to the attorney general’s office Saturday and later flown to Guayaquil, a city 265 miles south of Quito where he will be in custody, according to The Associated Press. 

Glas was Ecuador’s vice president from 2013 to 2017. He amassed corruption charges during his tenure, eventually being found guilty of getting bribes from construction behemoth Odebrecht, according to The New York Times. He was sentenced to jail for six years. In 2020, he was convicted in another corruption case and was sentenced to eight years in prison, according to the Times. He got an early release from prison in November 2022 but was hit with another embezzlement charge.