Latin America Slams Assault on Mexican Embassy in Ecuador
OAS Secretary General, Luis Almagro, called for “dialogue” between Mexico and Ecuador and announced that he will request an urgent meeting of the Permanent Council.
HAVANA TIMES – The police raid on the Mexican Embassy in Quito, where Ecuadorian security agents forcibly entered on Friday night, April 5, to arrest former Vice President Jorge Glas, whom the Mexican government had granted political asylum, has provoked a unanimous reaction of condemnation from Latin American governments, both left and right.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador expressed his gratitude for the international support received after the incident at his country’s Embassy in Ecuador, where the diplomatic assault took place. Lopez Obrador called on Mexican citizens not to fall into provocations and to avoid harassment.
The message from the Mexican president comes after expressions of solidarity and support from presidents such as Luis Alberto Arce of Bolivia; Gustavo Petro of Colombia; Gabriel Boric of Chile; as well as former Argentine President Alberto Fernández (2019-2023) and the Chilean Foreign Minister, Alberto van Klaveren, among others.
The regime of Daniel Ortega announced on Saturday that Nicaragua is also severing diplomatic relations with Ecuador, just as Mexico had announced the night before through its Foreign Minister, Alicia Barcena.
Urgent OAS Meeting
International organizations have also reacted strongly. The Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Luis Almagro, urged “dialogue” between Mexico and Ecuador and announced that he will request a meeting of the Permanent Council of the organization to address the tensions between the two countries.
In a statement, the OAS General Secretariat, headed by Almagro, called “for dialogue between the parties to resolve their differences” and deemed “necessary” a meeting of the organization’s Permanent Council, based in Washington.
Meanwhile, Ecuadorian Cristina Reyes, President of the Andean Parliament, acknowledged after the raid on the Mexican Embassy in Quito, that her country has entered into a “serious international conflict.”
The Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) said that the “unprecedented raid on the Embassy,” as well as the “kidnapping of the former vice president” and “mistreatment of all Mexican diplomatic personnel constitute serious violations of international law.”
Among the left-governed countries, Colombia formally requested on Saturday that Honduras, which holds the pro tempore presidency of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), convene an extraordinary meeting of this organization to address Ecuador’s possible breach of the Vienna Convention by forcibly entering the Mexican Embassy in Quito.
“In light of the situation at the Mexican Embassy in Quito, Colombia formally requested Honduras, pro tempore president of CELAC, to convene an extraordinary meeting to address this serious matter related to Ecuador’s breach of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations,” the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported.
Earlier, President Gustavo Petro had stated on his social media that “Mexico’s sovereignty in Ecuador has been violated.”
Chilean President Gabriel Boric sent “fraternal greetings” to López Obrador and described the incursion of the Ecuadorian Police into the Mexican Embassy in Quito as “unacceptable.”
“All our solidarity with Mexico in the face of the unacceptable violation of its sovereignty by the Ecuadorian Police’s intrusion into the Mexican embassy in Quito,” Boric posted on social media.
Lula Shows Solidarity with Lopez Obrador
In the same vein, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva conveyed his solidarity to the Mexican president.
“All my solidarity to President and friend Lopez Obrador,” said the progressive Brazilian leader in a message posted on his social networks after Mexico severed relations with Ecuador.
One of the most severe condemnation reactions came from Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who described the police raid on the Mexican Embassy in Quito as a “fascist act.”
“Venezuela raises its voice strongly to reject this fascist act against international law and expresses its full and absolute solidarity with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador,” said Maduro on social media.
In Cuba, President Miguel Diaz-Canel also expressed support for the Government of Mexico. “All our solidarity with Mexico, in the face of the unacceptable violation of its Embassy in Quito,” Díaz-Canel wrote on social media. President of Bolivia, Luis Arce, did the same describing the Ecuadorian Police’s incursion into the diplomatic mission as “unacceptable.”
In a message on his social networks, Arce stated that Bolivia, respectful “of the rules governing diplomatic relations, strongly condemns the incursion of the Ecuadorian Police” into the Mexican embassy in Quito, an event “unprecedented in the history of international law.”
Honduran President Xiomara Castro expressed a similar stance, for whom the Ecuadorian Police’s incursion into the Mexican Embassy is “intolerable.”
“We strongly condemn this violation of the sovereignty of the Mexican state and international law,” emphasized the Honduran president.
Correa: Noboa Acts Like in the Worst Dictatorships
Former Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa (2007-2017) stated that current President Daniel Noboa confuses the country “with one of his banana plantations.”
“Not even in the worst dictatorships has the embassy of a country been violated. We do not live under the rule of law, but rather under a state of barbarism, with an improviser who confuses the homeland with one of his banana plantations,” said Correa about current President Daniel Noboa, whose family owns the largest banana empire in the country, the world’s leading exporter of that fruit.
Likewise, right-wing Latin American governments coincided in repudiating the assault on the Mexican diplomatic headquarters in Quito, but while condemning the act, they advocated for dialogue between the two countries to resolve their differences.
The Argentine government recalled the case of Venezuelan opposition members sheltered in the Argentine diplomatic residence in Caracas.
“The Argentine Republic joins the countries of the region in condemning what happened last night at the Mexican Embassy in Ecuador,” said the Argentine Foreign Ministry in a statement.
In its statement, the Argentine government “calls for full compliance” with the provisions of the 1954 Convention on Diplomatic Asylum, “as well as the obligations arising from the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.”
Since March 26, six Venezuelan opposition members have been sheltered in the official residence of the Argentine Embassy in Caracas.
Meanwhile, the Paraguayan Executive said it observes with “deep concern” the recent events surrounding the Mexican Embassy in Ecuador.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of that country called “for reflection on the respect and strict compliance with International Law.”
In Peru, the government led by Dina Boluarte rejected “any transgression of the norms of the Vienna Convention” and called for dialogue between the Governments of Ecuador and Mexico.
“The Government of Peru rejects any transgression of the norms of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961 that guarantee the procedures for good coexistence between States,” it stated.
Uruguay Advocates for Peaceful Coexistence
In line with this same approach, the Uruguayan government expressed its “deep regret” for the events that occurred at the Mexican Embassy in Ecuador.
“Uruguay deeply regrets the events that have occurred in the last hours in Ecuador that have affected relations between two sister nations, as well as respect for fundamental norms of international law and for peaceful coexistence among Latin American nations,” states a statement from the Uruguayan Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Government of Panama, through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, rejected the “use of force” and deemed the incursion “unacceptable.” The Republic of Panama “expresses strong rejection of the actions taken regarding the situation of former President Jorge Glas, in open defiance of the fundamental principles of international law and diplomatic relations.”
On the other hand, former Bolivian Presidents Carlos Mesa, Jorge Quiroga, Eduardo Rodríguez Veltzé, and Evo Morales separately criticized the Ecuadorian Police’s incursion into the Mexican Embassy in Quito for the arrest of former Vice President Jorge Glas.
“Although it is reprehensible for a democratic state to abuse its extraterritorial privileges and shelter criminals and corrupt individuals in its diplomatic missions, it is absolutely unacceptable for international relations for the sovereignty of the Mexican Embassy in Quito to be violated,” wrote Mesa (2003-2005) on his social media.