Spain: The Invasion Of The Mexican Embassy In Ecuador Violates The Vienna Convention

Quito, Ecuador/ILLUSTRATION OF UNSPLASH/Alejandro Alfaro M

JAKARTA - The Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday (7/4) called the raid on the Mexican embassy in Ecuador by local police a violation of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

The Spanish Foreign Ministry also called for the need for reconciliation between Mexico City and Quito.

Earlier, on Friday night (5/4) until Saturday (6/4), Ecuadorian police stormed into the Mexican Embassy complex in Quito using armed vehicles to capture Glas, who had long taken refuge there, according to media reports.

Following the incident, Mexico City cut diplomatic relations with Quito.

"The forced breach at the Mexican Embassy in Quito was a violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations in 1961. We call for respect for international law and harmony between Mexico and Ecuador, the Spanish brother country and members of the Ibero-American Community," the ministry said in a statement. statement reported by ANTARA from Sputnik, Monday, April 8.

Glas previously served five years in prison for bribery and criminal conspiracy before being released at the end of 2022.

However, in December 2023, he was sentenced to six more years in prison in a corruption case involving Brazilian construction company Odebrecht, currently known as Novonor.

Glas took refuge at the Mexican Embassy in the same month, before his official arrest warrant was issued. On April 5, 2024, Mexico decided to give Glas political asylum.

Ecuador called Mexico's decision illegal and demanded the politician's extradition.