WASHINGTON: The White House on Tuesday strongly condemned Ecuador’s raid on the embassy of Mexico in Quito to arrest a suspect of corruption sheltering in the diplomatic premises.
Ecuadoran security forces entered the compound on Friday night, using a battering ram to break the door, an act which is not allowed in diplomatic territory, to apprehend former vice president Jorge Glas, who had been granted asylum by the government of Mexico.
The statement by the US national security adviser Jake Sullivan came after Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he was disappointed that the United States and Canada had not slammed the raid clearly, rather issued vague remarks.
Lopez Obrador added that President Joe Biden had not spoken personally to denounce the raid.
Sullivan at a news conference condemned in strongest words the violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, including the use of force against officials of the embassy.
The statement was more critical than earlier from the State Department, which the Mexican president said failed to slam the raid.
Sullivan went on to say that the security camera footage from the Mexican embassy has shown that these actions are wrong.
He added that the government of Ecuador disregarded its obligations under international law as a host state to respect and protect the diplomatic missions.
