Jorge Glas Espinel, Ex-Vice President of Ecuador, was accused of corruption and embezzlement of government funds intended for the reconstruction after the 2016 earthquake. After Glas was convicted of corruption for a second time, he requested political asylum from the Mexican Government. He was granted asylum and taken in as a refugee by the Mexican Embassy on Dec. 17, 2023 under political asylum until he was hospitalized on Apr. 5, 2024.
The Ecuadorian Government was not happy with the intervention of the Mexican Government due to the high profile of the case. After countless debates, the Mexican Government stood strong against the efforts to remove Glas from their custody.
On the evening of Apr. 5, 2024, on orders from Ecuador’s President, Daniel Noboa, the Ecuadorian military invaded the Mexican Embassy in Quito, the capital city of Ecuador. This invasion was an attempt on behalf of the Ecuadorian authorities to extract Glas, violating multiple international norms. Now Noboa is being accused of poor management of foreign affairs.
The raid of the embassy is in violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961. This law prevents the search and seizure of embassies by the homeland’s government, granted that the embassy belongs to the country it represents, not the host country. Ecuador violated its obligations of peaceful settlement established by Chapter VI of the United Nations Charter.
After the attack on the embassy, Glas was admitted to the hospital, then transferred from Quito to the city of Guayaquil. There he was placed in the maximum security prison, La Roca.
Andres Manual Lopes Obrador, the Mexican President, announced that the country will be cutting all political ties to Ecuador. Along with this, Mexico is taking some preventive measures to further ensure the safety of their country. This includes a report filed to the International Court of Justice, who is in charge of settling international disputes, and ordering for the immediate suspension of Ecuador as a member of the United Nations, an organization in charge of maintaining international peace and security.
On Monday Apr. 15, 2024, the National Court of Justice of Ecuador came to a consensus after a 12 hour trial and decided that Jorge Glas must remain under arrest in custody of the Ecuadorian government. In the hearing Glas announced that he will be reaching out to the German consulate to discuss the possibility of exercising his rights using his dual citizenship.
You may be asking yourself, how does this impact the rest of the world? This has multiple economic and trading consequences.
One of the most pivotal consequences of the alliance’s end, is the imbalance it will cause within the World Bank, a financial and technical assistance fund for developing countries across the world. This is reason enough for a resolution due to the number of countries involved.
According to Hugo Vela, Mexican journalist and internationalist, “the de facto commercial relationship is not going to end.” Many analysts believe this does not shut down the entire trade operation between Ecuador and Mexico, rather a momentary pause until both parties come to a resolution.
In solidarity with Mexico, on Apr. 16, 2024 President of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro announced that the Venezuelan Embassy and consulates will be shut down. Not far behind, President of Honduras, Xiomara Castro, announced that the Honduruian Embassy would also be shutting down.
The actions taken and the severance of diplomatic alliances are measures to promote the respect of international law. There is hope in the restoration of the two countries alliance in the future but as of now we must wait to see the situation further develop.
Sofia Uribe • May 21, 2024 at 1:41 pm
The author sheds light on the international conflict between Mexico and Ecuador after Ecuador invaded the Mexican embassy. The author concisely tells the story of what happened and notes its international repercussions, strengthening my understanding of the overall affair and explaining its relevance in international diplomacy.
I am half Mexican and half Ecuadorian. Having been to both countries and being surrounded by both cultures, this topic personally reaches out to me. My grandparents currently live in Ecuador, and I am worried for their safety as the political and social climate there becomes increasingly unstable. Ecuador is enduring turmoil at the moment and is now garnering attention because of its conflict with Mexico. Having connections between both countries, my family and I can only hope for the best. Ecuador’s conflict with Mexico is deeply concerning, yet we can hope that the two countries are able to develop better relations in the future.
Samuel Figueroa • May 21, 2024 at 10:45 am
This article helps explain the reason behind the recent tension between the two countries of Mexico and Ecuador. I think the article is really well written and helps give the readers a good understanding of what’s going on. While I was aware that the Ecuadorian military had entered the Mexican embassy, I was not familiar with the context of the situation, which is something that this article does a great job of explaining. It is unfortunate that the situation has led to increased tensions between the two countries and the rest of Latin America. I had not considered the fact that this would lead to economic and trading problems in the region, and I hope that these issues are resolved quickly as too much attention on this event may divert economic resources from those who need it. Overall this is a very well written article, on a topic that I think more people should be informed on.
Diego Castilo • May 21, 2024 at 10:01 am
On May 7th, Tere Quezada wrote the article titled “Trouble in Latin America: Mexico and Ecuador, where she describes the ongoing conflict between Mexico and Ecuador’s governments. The issue stems from the Mexican Government’s inability to court the illegal drug trafficking cartels in it’s own borders allowing the organizations to expand their operations into other countries in Latin America. Due to the immense power these cartels hold, they are able to bribe the officials in many countries into corruption. Officials in both Mexico and Ecuador are targeted, to allow for their operations to continue and not report their findings. One such corrupt official in Ecuador was caught and given asylum in the Mexican Embassy in Quito. This means that the Mexican Government was directly interfering with Ecuadorian law enforcement policy, and the Ecuadorian Government retaliated as such. The conflict has resulted in the cutting of political ties with the Mexican Government and the withdrawl of the embassies of other similarly troubled countries, Venezuela and Honduras.
Andrea Mercado • May 20, 2024 at 9:29 am
This article highlights the troubles between Mexico and Ecuador and the economic and trading consequences that will come along with their friendship and ties coming to an end. Tere does a good job at going into detail about the situation and giving a good timeline of the events that took place that lead to this situation. She also did a splendid job with making sure to include that the commercial relationship might not end but perhaps come to a pause while both countries resolve their conflicts. Tere included the perspectives of different people such as the presidents of not only the conflicting countries but also Venezuela and Honduras.
I was aware of the situation going on between both Latin American countries through the news. However, Tere made me more aware and informed of what really took place with the amount of detail she provided. I do hope that both countries will be able to resolve their conflicts as the last thing we need right now is more differences and conflict that will separate us from being more united. Overall Tere did a wonderful job informing not just me but many others of the disputes taking place outside the United States.
Michael • May 20, 2024 at 9:15 am
May 20, 2024
Dear Corydon Editor,
On May 7, 2024, Tere Quezada wrote an article titled “Trouble in Latin America: Mexico and Ecuador” After reading through the article, I am amazed by how well written it is, thoroughly and impartially explaining exactly what’s going on and what That could mean for the rest of the world. In fact my only suggestion for improving the quality of the article would be to increase the length of it, just to provide more information. However, within the context, it’s perfectly understandable why it’s as short as it is. Even still, the passage provided so much information, in a concise and understandable manner, so after having read it, I feel perfectly knowledgeable on the subject. I feel particularly interested in it because I do have a lot of family from Mexico, but I even if I hadn’t, I still feel like I would’ve been heavily invested into the events detailed in the article.
Sincerely,
Michael Bravo