Ecuadorean police and soldiers forced their way into Mexico’s embassy in Quito late Friday night to arrest former Vice President Jorge Glas who had for months taken refuge there, after Mexican officials offered him formal asylum protection earlier in the day, Reuters reports.
Ecuador argued it was unlawful to grant asylum to Glas, who had been convicted twice on graft charges.
Glas, 54, who had a preventive arrest warrant out on another corruption case, had been holed up in the embassy in Quito since seeking political asylum in December.
At the Mexican capital’s main airport, Foreign Minister Alicia Barcena hailed the solidarity shown with Mexico from 18 Latin American governments – nearly the entire region and spanning its ideological divides – in addition to 10 European nations, plus the United States and Canada.
While welcoming about a couple dozen embassy personnel who were flown back to Mexico, the diplomat also lashed out at Ecuador’s “physical aggression” on the embassy. She also reiterated plans to seek further international rebukes for the government of President Daniel Noboa over the incident.
Earlier on Sunday, Britain became the latest country to condemn Ecuador’s incursion into the embassy, according to a foreign office statement.
MNA/PR
