MANAGUA, Nicaragua: Nicaragua Saturday announced it was cutting off “all diplomatic relations” with Quito after police stormed the Mexican embassy in Ecuador’s capital and arrested Jorge Glas, the former Ecuadoran vice president, who had sought asylum there.
In a statement, President Daniel Ortega’s government declared its “sovereign decision to break all diplomatic relations with the Ecuadoran government” following the “unusual and reprehensible action.”
Glas had taken shelter in the Mexican embassy last December following an arrest warrant issued against him for alleged corruption, a move denounced by Ecuadoran President Daniel Noboa’s government as an “illicit act.”
Mexico, citing a thorough analysis of the situation, had granted political asylum to Glas, who had served under leftist Rafael Correa from 2013 to 2017.
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador condemned the forcible entry of Ecuadoran police into the embassy, labeling it a “flagrant violation of international law and Mexico’s sovereignty.”
Foreign Minister Alicia Barcena confirmed Mexico’s decision to immediately sever diplomatic relations with Ecuador in response to the incident.
Meanwhile, Ecuador’s presidential communications department stated that Glas, who had previously served prison time for corruption in the Odebrecht scandal, was arrested and handed over to authorities after being sentenced to imprisonment by the Ecuadoran justice system.
Glas faces another arrest warrant for allegedly embezzling funds intended for earthquake reconstruction efforts in 2016.
Prior to the incident, Mexico had expressed concern over increased police presence outside its embassy in Quito, describing it as “harassment.”
