Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Earnings PolicyEarnings Policy

Investing

Ecuador police arrest former VP in raid at Mexican embassy, prompting diplomatic severing, outcry

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Friday evening announced the severing of diplomatic relations with Ecuador following the arrest of former Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge Glas.

Ecuadorian police late Friday broke through the external doors of the Mexican embassy in the Ecuadorian capital, Quito, to arrest Glas, who had been residing there since December. 

Glas sought political asylum at the embassy after being indicted on corruption charges.

‘This is not possible. It cannot be. This is crazy,’ Roberto Canseco, head of the Mexican consular section in Quito, told local press while standing outside the embassy right after the raid, according to The Associated Press. ‘I am very worried because they could kill him. There is no basis to do this. This is totally outside the norm.’

Alicia Bárcena, Mexico’s secretary of foreign relations, on Friday posted on the social media platform X that a number of diplomats suffered injuries during the break-in.

Bárcena said Mexico would take the case to the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, ‘to denounce Ecuador’s responsibility for violations of international law.’ She also recalled Mexican diplomats.

Ecuador’s Foreign Minister Gabriela Sommerfeld on Saturday told reporters that the decision to enter the embassy was made by President Daniel Noboa after considering Glas’ ‘imminent flight risk’ and exhausting all possibilities for diplomatic dialogue with Mexico. Mexico granted Glas asylum hours before the raid. Sommerfeld said that ‘it is not legal to grant asylum to people convicted of common crimes and by competent courts.’

Authorities are investigating Glas over alleged irregularities during his management of reconstruction efforts following a powerful earthquake in 2016 that killed hundreds of people. 

He was convicted of bribery and corruption charges in other cases.

The Organization of American States reminded its members, which include Ecuador and Mexico, of their obligation not to ‘invoke norms of domestic law to justify non-compliance with their international obligations.’

The Spanish foreign ministry, in a statement Sunday, said, ‘The entry by force into the Embassy of Mexico in Quito constitutes a violation of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. We call for respect for international law and harmony between Mexico and Ecuador, brotherly countries to Spain and members of the Ibero-American community.’

U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said, ‘The United States condemns any violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, and takes very seriously the obligation of host countries under international law to respect the inviolability of diplomatic missions.’ He called on both countries to resolve their differences.

Honduran President Xiomara Castro, writing on X, characterized the raid as ‘an intolerable act for the international community’ and a ‘violation of the sovereignty of the Mexican State and international law’ because ‘it ignores the historical and fundamental right to asylum.’

On Saturday, Glas was taken from the attorney general’s office in Quito to the port city of Guayaquil, where he will remain in custody at a maximum-security prison. People who had gathered outside the prosecutor’s office yelled ‘strength’ as he left with a convoy of police and military vehicles.

Glas’ attorney, Sonia Vera, told the AP that officers broke into his room and he resisted when they attempted to put his hands behind his back. She said the officers then ‘knocked him to the floor, kicked him in the head, in the spine, in the legs, the hands,’ and when he ‘couldn’t walk, they dragged him out.’ 

Vera said the defense team was not allowed to speak with Glas while he was at the prosecutor’s office, and it is now working to file a habeas corpus petition.

Diplomatic premises are considered foreign soil and ‘inviolable’ under the Vienna treaties and host country law enforcement agencies are not allowed to enter without the permission of the ambassador. 

People seeking asylum have lived anywhere from days to years at embassies around the world, including at Ecuador’s in London, which housed WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange for seven years because British police could not enter to arrest him.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

Enter Your Information Below To Receive Latest News, And Articles.

    Your information is secure and your privacy is protected. By opting in you agree to receive emails from us. Remember that you can opt-out any time, we hate spam too!

    You May Also Like

    Latest News

    FBI Director Christopher A. Wray, who has been increasingly under attack from congressional Republicans, pushed back against his critics in a new interview, saying...

    Economy

    Everything You Need to Know about Tax Saving Deposit Navigating the world of investments can be daunting, especially when looking for options that offer...

    Economy

    USDCHF and USDJPY: USDJPY is testing support at 150.00 The USDCHF pair jumped to 0.91126 levels on Wednesday, forming a new three-week high. The...

    Latest News

    One ripple effect of the Israel-Gaza war is the warp-speed unraveling of relations between President Biden and some of his most loyal voters: Muslims...

    Disclaimer: earningspolicy.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.


    Copyright © 2024 earningspolicy.com