Ecuador’s Embassy Raid

The Mexican government broke diplomatic ties with Ecuador after the Mexican Embassy in Quito was raided on April 6, 2024, to detain Ecuador’s ex-Vice President Jorge Glas, convicted of bribery and organized crime. Both governments are facing significant stakes: Ecuador must ensure that a high-profile crime does not go unpunished, while Mexico is obligated to uphold international law and offer international protection for Jorge Glas.

Glas and his allies

The current government of Ecuador is determined to pursue Glas at all costs due to its political implications. Jorge Glas served as the Vice President of Ecuador from 2013 to 2018. During his second term as Vice President, he was found guilty of corruption offenses, including bribery and illicit association. This was in connection with his involvement in receiving bribes from Odebrecht in exchange for awarding public contracts. So far, so good: Glas went to jail and was dismissed as Vice President.

The incarceration of Glas and other former government officials has been a campaign promise of the last two administrations, as well as the current one under President Daniel Noboa. The pledge is that holding Glas and his allies accountable will begin dismantling the corrupt network that has deeply affected the country. In this Game of Thrones, Glass has been jailed and freed repeatedly since 2018. For example, Glas requested alternative measures to prison for illness through a habeas corpus. However, Glas’ latest move was unfavorable. In December 2023, a judge revoked his provisional release and ordered his immediate capture. Soon after, Glas entered the Mexican Embassy as a guest and requested to be recognized as a political asylee by Mexico.

Mexico, home of the persecuted

Political asylum is the prerogative of states to provide international protection when they believe an individual is subject to political persecution based on his public profile. Since 2018, Mexico has successfully granted political asylum to several former Ecuadorian Officials alleging ongoing political persecution against them. Glass requested to be recognized as a political asylee by Mexico after a judge ordered his capture. This was followed by a series of reactions from Ecuador and Mexico that led to the breakup of their diplomatic relations. To begin with, the government of Ecuador deployed a police operation for three months without interruption to prevent Glas’ escape from the Mexican Embassy. Then, in March 2024, Ecuador unsuccessfully asked Mexico to enter its embassy headquarters to enforce the arrest warrant against Glas. Days later, Mexican President Andrés López Obrador criticized the government’s handling of the structural violence in Ecuador. On April 4, 2024, the government of Ecuador responded furiously and declared the Mexican ambassador persona non-grata. A day later, Mexico granted political asylum to Jorge Glas and requested that Ecuador grant him safe passage to Mexico. This chronicle ended with the government of Ecuador raiding the Mexican embassy and capturing Glas.

The violation of the Mexican Mission premises

Under Article 22 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, Diplomatic headquarters are territories that enjoy immunity when carrying out the sovereign functions of the country where they are located. This rule is a cornerstone safeguard of diplomatic relations, allowing representations not to be coerced by the host government and thus allowing states to be on an equal footing. Noteworthy, embassies and consulates are inviolable because they are considered the sovereign territory of the country they represent. The host country is thus obliged to respect this sovereignty. All in all, entering an embassy is the same as illegally occupying a country’s territory, and for so, there is no doubt that Ecuador violated this principle and is thus liable.

Ecuador questions the political asylum status of Glas

Ecuador relies on at least one claim to justify the raid on the Mexican Embassy. In a press release, Ecuador argued that international law must yield to the possibility of leaving corruption crimes unpunished. Ecuador invoked the Convention of Caracas on political Asylum (1954) that says, “It is not lawful to grant asylum to persons who at the time of applying for asylum are accused of or being accused or prosecuted before competent ordinary courts for ordinary crimes, or are convicted of such crimes and convicted of such crimes and by such courts, without having served the respective sentences.” The President of Ecuador welcomed Glas’ capture and claimed that no criminal should be considered a political asylum seeker. Nonetheless, this claim fails because the declaration of political asylum is a sovereign act of the State and logically not subject to review by the country from which the person would be fleeing.

An easy case for the ICJ

In this exchange of bullets, Mexico announced its next step: filing an application to institute proceedings against Ecuador for violating the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. Considering the judgment of United States v. Tehran, the ICJ will find this case easy. Following that ruling, the ICJ is likely to declare the international responsibility of Ecuador and order to make reparations for the injuries caused.

Moreover, the conflict has escalated to other spheres beyond an unfavorable ruling for Ecuador. At the international level, Ecuador has already faced the so-called “naming and shaming” effect for failing to comply with the inviolability of diplomatic premises. Countless Latin American countries have called on Ecuador to respect consular law, including Nicaragua and Colombia, considering the option of filing an inter-state application for precautionary measures before the Inter-American System of Human Rights.  Possibly, the System will order that Ecuador must take immediate measures to respect the Mexican embassy and its diplomatic staff, as well as ensure the physical integrity of Glas. It is yet to be determined if the Inter-American Commission will order Ecuador to allow Glas safe conduct for travel to Mexico in order to exercise the granted asylum. In terms of economic partnership, Mexico is a more significant partner for Ecuador than vice versa. Therefore, not having a diplomatic mission to promote trade and investment between these two countries can be detrimental. Needless to say, there is the risk of terminating various development cooperation projects signed between these countries.

Having Glas behind bars is politically beneficial for the Noboa government. On April 21, there will be a referendum with questions on security and justice, which could provide a way for the Noboa government to consolidate politically. Finally, looking ahead to the 2025 presidential elections, the arrest of Glas may serve as an opportunity to demonstrate that the government is upholding its promise of fighting corruption, even when challenging the rule of law is required. In the end, domestic advantages outweigh the international disadvantages in the eyes of the Government.

It goes without saying that for the international legal system, this is a dangerous calculation. Unfortunately, this is a trend that can also be observed in other parts of Latin America. The diminished respect for international law was evident, for example, when Nicaragua again violated the premises of the Organization of American States in 2022 and when Venezuela flouted Suriname’s territorial integrity in 2023.

Not only because of this trend, it is hoped that regional and international institutions will find a swift and clear response to Ecuador’s blatant violation of international law.