Ecuador rejects Mexico’s demand to resume diplomacy

The president of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, rejected the conditions imposed by Mexico for the reestablishment of diplomatic relations between the countries. In an interview with France Press this Friday (May 17, 2024), he said it did not seem “appropriate” that the Mexican government’s main demand is the handover of former Ecuadorian vice president Jorge Glas.

“It does not seem appropriate to me or to the Government that the only condition and the only way to re-establish a relationship with Mexico is to give them a criminal”said Noboa.

Glas, who held the position during Rafael Correa’s government, was arrested after accusations of corruption and misuse of public resources. He was forcibly removed from the Mexican Embassy in Quito, where he was in asylum.

Diplomatic break

Mexico announced the “immediate break” of diplomatic relations with Ecuador after the military operation at the embassy on April 5.

Glas had received political asylum there, where he had been since December 2023. He alleged “political persecution” by the country’s judicial authorities.

The Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Mexico claims that Ecuador hurt the Mexican diplomatic corps in the country. The locations of one country’s missions in another – such as embassies and consulates – are considered inviolable.