Mexico suspends ties with Ecuador after police raid embassy
Al Jazeera
Ecuador police storm Mexico’s embassy in Quito to arrest former vice president Jorge Glas.
Mexico has suspended diplomatic relations with Ecuador after police forcibly broke into its embassy in Quito and arrested former Ecuadorian vice president Jorge Glas who had sought political asylum there.
Glas, who had been convicted twice of corruption, has been staying in the Mexican embassy since December, claiming he was being persecuted by Ecuadorian officials.
Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Friday that it had offered political asylum to Glas, calling on Ecuador to grant him “safe passage” out of the country.
But Ecuadorian special forces, wearing tactical gear including bulletproof vests and helmets, forcefully entered the embassy on Friday night and arrested Glas.
“Ecuador is a sovereign nation and we are not going to allow any criminal to stay free,” Ecuador’s presidency wrote in a statement shortly before the raid.
