Mexico has called for Ecuador to be suspended from the United Nations following the storming of the Mexican embassy in Quito in April. The International Court of Justice has declined to order Ecuador to protect Mexico’s embassy despite the breach of diplomatic conventions. Mexico filed a complaint against Ecuador stating that its actions violated sovereignty and demanded an apology or suspension from the UN. While a ruling on the complaint is pending, Mexico also asked the court to order Ecuador to provide full protection to the embassy and prevent further intrusions.
The president of the International Court of Justice stated that Ecuador has made pledges to address Mexico’s concerns and there is no urgent need for preliminary orders. Mexico’s legal adviser for Foreign Affairs Ministry called Ecuador’s pledges a step in the right direction but stressed the importance of all political actors in Ecuador reaffirming the inviolability of embassies. The diplomatic spat between Mexico and Ecuador has severely strained relations between the two countries, leading to legal action at the ICJ. Ecuador filed a counter-complaint accusing Mexico of interference in its domestic affairs and using the diplomatic compound to shield a criminal from the law.
The former vice president of Ecuador, Jorge Glas, had been staying at Mexico’s embassy since December and was later arrested on charges related to bribery and misuse of public funds. The tensions between Mexico and Ecuador escalated, with Mexico’s president drawing comparisons between the violence that preceded Ecuador’s 2023 election and the presidential campaign season in Mexico. Ecuador responded by declaring Mexico’s ambassador persona non grata. Mexico’s granting of political asylum to Glas has also drawn criticism, with accusations that it was misused for political purposes.
The storming of the Mexican embassy in Ecuador has been widely condemned for violating international laws, including the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations that establishes embassies as protected spaces. The Organization of American States and the US Department of State have expressed solidarity with the victims of the raid and called for a resolution of the issue between the two countries. Despite an Ecuadorian tribunal declaring the raid illegal, Glas remains imprisoned in Guayaquil. The fallout from the raid and the subsequent legal actions have strained the relationship between Mexico and Ecuador and drawn attention to the importance of respecting diplomatic missions under international law.
