Spain condemned on Sunday April 7 the police raid carried out by the Ecuadorian authorities against the Mexican embassy in Quito to arrest the former Ecuadorian vice-president accused of corruption Jorge Glas, who had taken refuge there, and called for “respect for international law.”
“The forceful entry into the Mexican Embassy in Quito is in violation of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. We call for respect for international law and the return of harmony between Mexico and Ecuador, brother countries of Spain and members of the Ibero-American community,” declared the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares Bueno, in a press release.
The 1961 Vienna Convention provides that embassies and consulates “shall be inviolable.” But it also emphasizes that they must not be used in a way “incompatible” with diplomatic and consular functions.
Mexico granted asylum on Friday to Jorge Glas, who had taken refuge in its embassy in Quito since December 17 and was the subject of an arrest warrant for alleged corruption by the Ecuadorian justice system.
Quito had described this decision as “illegal”, denouncing an “abuse of immunities and privileges” granted to the embassy and interference in its internal affairs. “Jorge Glas has been the subject of an enforceable conviction and an arrest warrant issued by the competent authorities,” commented the Ecuadorian Ministry of Communication.
The granting of asylum to Mr. Glas on Friday came the day after Ecuador’s decision to expel the Mexican ambassador to Quito, following criticism by the Mexican president of the conduct of the Ecuadorian presidential election in 2023.