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Ecuador faces outrage following this They besieged the Mexican embassy in Quito Ecuador's former vice president Jorge Claus wants to arrest a controversial asylum seeker there.
Mexico said it would file a case against Ecuador in the International Court of Justice on Monday to order Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to immediately cut diplomatic ties with Quito following the arrest of Glass on Friday night.
In a post XObrador called the action “a flagrant violation of international law and Mexico's sovereignty.”
The breach of diplomatic convention has sent shock waves through the region, with Latin American leaders from across the political spectrum condemning the incident.
Under diplomatic regulations, embassies are considered protected places.
It marks a climax A series of diplomatic provocations This week between Mexico and Ecuador.
Glass, 54, was transferred to a maximum-security prison in Guayaquil called La Roca, Ecuadorean officials said.
His attorneys have filed an appeal to free him, according to court records, though it's unclear when a judge might rule on the request.
Ecuador's prosecutor's office declined to comment on an appeal brought by Glass's defense.
Consular staff of the Mexican Embassy in Quito and their families arrived in Mexico City from Ecuador on Sunday, the Mexican Foreign Ministry said.
The 18-member group boarded a commercial flight earlier on Sunday. Officials from Mexico, the so-called “friendly and allied countries,” accompanied them to the airport in Quito.
“Thank you to the ambassadors of Germany, Panama, Cuba, Honduras, the president of the Ecuador-Mexico Chamber and other embassy staff who stood in solidarity with the people of Mexico!” Mexico's foreign ministry said.
Mexico added that its embassy in Ecuador would remain closed indefinitely, as would its consular services. Mexicans in Ecuador can still get help through the Communication System for Nationals Abroad and from Mexican embassies in Chile, Colombia and Peru.
Ecuador National Police/Manual/Anatolu/Getty Images
Police arrested Glass in Quito, Ecuador on April 6.
Klaus, who has been convicted twice on corruption charges, served under leftist former President Rafael Correa between 2013 and 2017.
He was accused by Ecuadorian authorities of embezzling government funds to help rebuild after a devastating 2016 earthquake. Klaus' defense has denied the allegations and says he is the subject of political persecution.
Following his arrest, several Latin American countries, including regional giants Brazil and Argentina, rallied around Mexico to condemn Ecuador. Many pointed to the violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, an international treaty that defines the framework for relations between countries.
Some also pointed to a violation of Claus's right to asylum. Nicaragua joins Mexico in cutting diplomatic ties with Ecuador.
The right-wing Argentine government called for “full observance of the provisions of that international instrument and the obligations arising from the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations”.
Agence Presse South/Getty Images
Ecuadorian President Gabriela Sommerfeld during a press conference April 6 in Quito, Ecuador.
Left-wing Colombian President Gustavo Pedro Cruz said his right to asylum had been “barbarically violated”, while Honduran President Xiomara Castro said the attack on the embassy was “an intolerable act for the international community”.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was “alarmed” by the raid, his spokesman said.
Secretary-General's spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Guterres reaffirmed the “inviolable cardinal principle of diplomatic and consular premises and personnel”.
Video from the scene of Glass's arrest last Friday showed police officers surrounding the Mexican embassy with weapons.
01:25 – Source: CNN
UN Secretary General Guterres has condemned Ecuador's raid on the Mexican embassy.
At a news conference on Saturday, Ecuador's Foreign Minister Gabriela Sommerfeld defended the raid, saying the action was taken “in the face of the real danger of imminent escape”.
Sommerfeld accused Mexico of violating its policy of non-interference by allowing Glass to stay in the embassy and evade an order to regularly appear before authorities in a corruption investigation.
He rejected Mexico's claim that Glass was being politically prosecuted: “For Ecuador, no criminal can be considered a politically persecuted person with an enforceable sentence and an arrest warrant issued by judicial authorities”.
This story has been updated with additional updates.
