Mexico severs diplomatic ties with Ecuador following embassy raid

Mexico City [Mexico], April 6 : Mexico has announced the suspension of diplomatic relations with Ecuador after Ecuadorian authorities forcibly entered its embassy in Quito and apprehended former Vice President Jorge Glas, who had sought refuge there, Al Jazeera reported.
Vice President Jorge Glas, a two-time corruption convict, had been residing in the Mexican embassy since December, citing persecution by Ecuadorian officials.
Mexico's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement on Friday, offering political asylum to Glas and urging Ecuador to ensure his safe departure from the country. However, Ecuadorian special forces, equipped with tactical gear including bulletproof vests and helmets, conducted a nighttime raid on the embassy, leading to Glas's arrest, Al Jazeera reported.
"Ecuador is a sovereign nation and we are not going to allow any criminal to stay free," Ecuador's presidency wrote in a statement shortly before the raid.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador condemned the storming of the embassy and Glas's arrest as "authoritarian" and a "flagrant violation of international law and Mexico's sovereignty."
For many Ecuadorians, granting political asylum to a convicted former vice president by Mexico, particularly considering his affiliation with the Mexican president, appeared to be a travesty of justice, remarked lawyer and political commentator Adrian Perez Salazar.
"But the fact that there was this grievance does not - at least under international law - justify the forceful breach of an embassy," Salazar told Al Jazeera from Guayaquil, Ecuador.
Alicia Barcena, Mexico's foreign minister, revealed that several diplomats sustained injuries during the raid, which she denounced as a violation of the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations.
In response to the incident, Mexico announced the immediate withdrawal of its diplomatic personnel from Ecuador and declared intentions to seek accountability from Ecuador through the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for violations of international law.
"International law is very clear that embassies are not to be touched, and regardless of whatever justifications the Ecuadorian government might have, it is a case where the end does not justify the means," Salazar told Al Jazeera.
The situation escalated further following remarks by the Mexican president about Ecuador's elections, which Ecuador deemed "unfortunate," as reported by Al Jazeera.
Lopez Obrador's comments, referencing the assassination of Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio last year, and drawing parallels with recent violence in Mexico's electoral cycle, were met with indignation by Ecuador.
Implying that the assassination influenced the election outcome, Lopez Obrador criticised media owners and those fostering an atmosphere of violence during election campaigns.
Subsequently, Ecuador declared Mexican ambassador Raquel Serur Smeke persona non grata, ordering her swift departure from the country.
Ecuador has been grappling with heightened violence since earlier this year, marked by prison riots, escapes of criminal leaders, and armed assaults during live television broadcasts, highlighting the country's volatile internal security situation, Al Jazeera reported.