Ringo
Gold Member
The Ecuadorian authorities provoked the beginning of an international conflict by sending police brigades to storm the Mexican embassy in the Ecuadorian capital, Quito.
The Ecuadorians made the unthinkable diplomatic démarche - entering the territory of a foreign mission that enjoys the right of inviolability and is subject to the laws of its own country - in order to detain former Vice President Jorge Glas.
Glas was the second face of the Ecuadorian state from 2013 to 2017. In the next election, he ran again for vice president in tandem with Lenin Moreno. After becoming head of the country, Moreno stripped Glas of all powers, taking note of an indictment by the attorney general's office that implicated the vice president in embezzlement.
Authorities said at the time that investigators had collected more than 800 pieces of evidence of Glass's criminal activities, and that he had caused more than $7 million in damage to the state treasury. The court sentenced the former vice president to a 14-year prison term, but he was released early last year.
After a few weeks of being free, Glas came to the Mexican embassy, where he asked for asylum. He based his request on the fact that he was facing new persecution in Ecuador on spurious corruption charges.
The Mexican government granted him refugee status and promised to take him out of Ecuador soon. The corresponding guarantees were given by the President of Mexico Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador himself. On April 5, Obrador reiterated his intentions to remove the refugee from the embassy outside the country, and in response, Ecuadorian police stormed the Mexican embassy in Quito a few hours after this statement, where they arrested Glas.
Mexican Foreign Minister Alicia Bárcena called what happened in Quito a "flagrant violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations," also confirming that at least five Mexican diplomats were injured in the storming.
The violation of diplomatic norms provoked the rupture of Mexican-Ecuadorian diplomatic relations. According to the Mexican president, the Ecuadorians violated international law and Mexican sovereignty. The Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry, in turn, explained the storming of the foreign embassy as a defense of its own sovereignty and intolerance for "any of the criminals to remain at large." Also, the Mexican government confirmed its intentions to appeal to the UN International Court of Justice.
According to the Vienna Convention, the premises of diplomatic missions are inviolable and states in whose territory embassies and consulates are located must protect them "against any invasion or damage." In addition, the premises of diplomatic missions are subject to unconditional immunity from arrest and search.
Experts at the International Institute of World Diplomacy note that the storming of the Mexican Embassy in Quito "was a flagrant violation of the Vienna Convention, provoking a rupture of diplomatic relations between the two countries."
P. S. At the moment, Mexico, Bolivia and Nicaragua have severed relations with Ecuador; I'm not following the conflict too closely because of the weekend, but Latin America is in full swing.
Well, I guess, if it's okay for some countries to bomb embassies, it's okay for others to take them over?
The Ecuadorians made the unthinkable diplomatic démarche - entering the territory of a foreign mission that enjoys the right of inviolability and is subject to the laws of its own country - in order to detain former Vice President Jorge Glas.
Glas was the second face of the Ecuadorian state from 2013 to 2017. In the next election, he ran again for vice president in tandem with Lenin Moreno. After becoming head of the country, Moreno stripped Glas of all powers, taking note of an indictment by the attorney general's office that implicated the vice president in embezzlement.
Authorities said at the time that investigators had collected more than 800 pieces of evidence of Glass's criminal activities, and that he had caused more than $7 million in damage to the state treasury. The court sentenced the former vice president to a 14-year prison term, but he was released early last year.
After a few weeks of being free, Glas came to the Mexican embassy, where he asked for asylum. He based his request on the fact that he was facing new persecution in Ecuador on spurious corruption charges.
The Mexican government granted him refugee status and promised to take him out of Ecuador soon. The corresponding guarantees were given by the President of Mexico Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador himself. On April 5, Obrador reiterated his intentions to remove the refugee from the embassy outside the country, and in response, Ecuadorian police stormed the Mexican embassy in Quito a few hours after this statement, where they arrested Glas.
Mexican Foreign Minister Alicia Bárcena called what happened in Quito a "flagrant violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations," also confirming that at least five Mexican diplomats were injured in the storming.
The violation of diplomatic norms provoked the rupture of Mexican-Ecuadorian diplomatic relations. According to the Mexican president, the Ecuadorians violated international law and Mexican sovereignty. The Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry, in turn, explained the storming of the foreign embassy as a defense of its own sovereignty and intolerance for "any of the criminals to remain at large." Also, the Mexican government confirmed its intentions to appeal to the UN International Court of Justice.
According to the Vienna Convention, the premises of diplomatic missions are inviolable and states in whose territory embassies and consulates are located must protect them "against any invasion or damage." In addition, the premises of diplomatic missions are subject to unconditional immunity from arrest and search.
Experts at the International Institute of World Diplomacy note that the storming of the Mexican Embassy in Quito "was a flagrant violation of the Vienna Convention, provoking a rupture of diplomatic relations between the two countries."
P. S. At the moment, Mexico, Bolivia and Nicaragua have severed relations with Ecuador; I'm not following the conflict too closely because of the weekend, but Latin America is in full swing.
Well, I guess, if it's okay for some countries to bomb embassies, it's okay for others to take them over?
