Mexico withdraws all diplomats from Ecuador after storming embassy

Enlarge image

Action at the Mexican Embassy in Quito (April 5th)

Photo: Dolores Ochoa/dpa

Two days after security forces stormed the Mexican embassy in Ecuador, the North American country announced the previously announced withdrawal of its diplomatic staff. "Our diplomatic staff leaves everything behind in Ecuador and returns home with their heads held high," wrote Mexican Foreign Minister Alicia Bárcena on Sunday in the online service X.

Diplomatic representatives from several countries accompanied the Mexican embassy staff and their relatives to the airport in Quito. According to information from the AFP news agency, German ambassador Philipp Schauer was among them. The representatives of Panama, Cuba and Honduras as well as the chairman of the Ecuadorian-Mexican Chamber of Commerce also accompanied the 18 people.

On Friday, Ecuadorian special forces used a battering ram to enter the embassy in the capital Quito and arrested former Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge Glas. Mexico had previously granted asylum to Glas, who had been accused of corruption in Ecuador.

The incident is almost unprecedented worldwide: diplomatic facilities are considered the inviolable territory of another state.

The actions of the Ecuadorian authorities caused international outrage. The Foreign Office condemned the attack to AFP on Sunday as a "blatant violation" of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. This places the responsibility on host countries “to respect the inviolability of diplomatic missions and diplomats on their territory.”

Clear words also from the EU

The EU said it condemned the "violation (...) of the Mexican embassy" and insisted on the importance of the Vienna Convention. “Protecting the integrity of diplomatic missions and their personnel is critical to maintaining stability and international order and promoting cooperation and trust among nations,” the statement continued.

The Vienna Convention, a treaty governing international relations, states that a country may not invade embassies within its territory.

jok/AFP