<\/p>\n
The Mexican president<\/a><\/span> has quickly moved to break off diplomatic ties with Ecuador after police broke into the Mexican Embassy to arrest a former vice president who had sought political asylum there after being indicted on corruption charges<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n In an extraordinarily unusual move, Ecuadorian police forced their way into the embassy in the capital, Quito, to arrest Jorge Glas, who had been residing there since December. Police broke through the external doors of the Mexican diplomatic headquarters in the Ecuadorian capital and entered the main patio to get Glas.<\/p>\n On Saturday, he was taken from the attorney general\u2019s office to a detention facility in an armored vehicle followed by a convoy of military and police vehicles. People who had gathered outside the prosecutor\u2019s office yelled \u201cstrength\u201d as the vehicles began to move.<\/p>\n The raid prompted Mexico\u2019s President Andr\u00e9s Manuel L\u00f3pez Obrador to announce the break of diplomatic relations with Ecuador Friday evening.<\/p>\n Glas has been convicted on bribery and corruption charges. Ecuadorian authorities are still investigating more allegations against him.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not possible. It cannot be. This is crazy,\u201d Roberto Canseco, head of the Mexican consular section in Quito, told local press while standing outside the embassy. \u201cI am very worried because they could kill him. There is no basis to do this. This is totally outside the norm.\u201d<\/p>\n Defending its decision, Ecuador\u2019s presidency said in a statement: \u201cEcuador is a sovereign nation and we are not going to allow any criminal to stay free.\u201d<\/p>\n L\u00f3pez Obrador fired back, calling Glas\u2019 detention an \u201cauthoritarian act\u201d and \u201ca flagrant violation of international law and the sovereignty of Mexico.\u201d<\/p>\n Alicia B\u00e1rcena, Mexico\u2019s secretary of foreign relations, posted on the social platform X that a number of diplomats suffered injuries during the break-in, adding that it violated the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.<\/p>\n Diplomatic premises are considered \u201cinviolable\u201d under the Vienna treaties and local law enforcement agencies are not allowed to enter without the permission of the ambassador. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange lived inside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London<\/a><\/span> for seven years because British police could not enter to arrest him.<\/p>\n B\u00e1rcena said that Mexico would take the case to the International Court of Justice \u201cto denounce Ecuador\u2019s responsibility for violations of international law.\u201d She also said Mexican diplomats were only waiting for the Ecuadorian government to offer the necessary guarantees for their return home.<\/p>\n Ecuador\u2019s Foreign Ministry and Ecuador\u2019s Ministry of the Interior did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n The Mexican Embassy in Quito remained under heavy police guard late Friday.<\/p>\n A day earlier, tensions<\/a><\/span> between the two countries escalated after Mexico\u2019s president made statements that Ecuador considered \u201cvery unfortunate\u201d about last year\u2019s election<\/a><\/span>, won by Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n In reaction, the Ecuadorian government declared the Mexican ambassador persona non grata<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n