Ecuador’s Foreign Minister says Mexico violated diplomatic norms first: “There were failures and negative responses”

The Ecuadorian Foreign Minister, Gabriela Sommerfeld, assured this on Monday Mexico was the first to violate the Vienna Convention and asylum, and has not given concrete answers to the Andean country regarding its requests against former vice president Jorge Glas, tried for corruption and now detained in a maximum security prison.

Glas had taken refuge in the Mexican diplomatic headquarters, which was violently searched days ago to arrest the former vice president, violating the principles of sovereignty that prevail over the Mexican embassy.

Due to this fact, Mexico immediately severed diplomatic relations with the government of Ecuador.

The Ecuadorian government defended its actions in a statement confirming Glas’ arrest and his making available to the judicial authorities.

The text, entitled “We defend national sovereignty, zero impunity”, indicates this “no criminal can consider himself politically persecuted” and added that “since the immunities and privileges of the diplomatic mission hosting Glas were abused and diplomatic asylum was granted contrary to the conventional framework, his capture proceeded.”

As for Mexico, Ecuador has violated the Vienna Convention, which brings together 115 countries and regulates relations between states through treaties. It is considered one of the main sources of international law and its observance is mandatory for states that have ratified it.

Non-compliance and negative responses

Sommerfeld explained it “as a diplomatic channel we have sent all the demonstrative documentationthrough the Court of Justice, What was the situation of the then guest, invited, and then an asylum seeker, not to proceed because it was not appropriate”, that measure, he said, considering Glas a common criminal.

According to the head of Ecuadorian diplomacy, Mexico did not give ‘a positive response’and it was only mentioned that they were analyzing the case.

He added that Mexican Foreign Minister Alicia Bárcena sent a mission to Ecuador about 15 days ago. “Some agreements have been reached which, once again, they were not satisfied and there was always a non-compliance and no positive responses were received“.

“It is important to remember that whoever first begins to violate some articles of the Vienna Convention, as well as diplomatic asylum, It’s Mexico“he underlined.

He commented that “the spirit of any legal document must be respected” and “the Vienna Conventions must regulate the bilateral relations of countries”.

“Relationships are not destroyed with just one act. It is true that it has a cost (the police raid on the embassy last Friday to arrest Glas) for the country, which was also analyzed at the time of the decision of the president of the republic “, Daniel Noboa, who “defended democracy, the security of the country”, commented.

The chancellor also underlined this “there was clear interference by a state in the internal affairs of Ecuador.”

Sommerfeld indicated that Noboa had information that Glas would leave the embassy shortly thereafter on Friday evening Mexico granted him political asylum, Therefore, the police raid was ordered, despite the Vienna Convention protects the inviolability of Embassies.

When asked on Teleamazonas television whether it was less traumatic to seize a vehicle when leaving the diplomatic delegation than to incur one, the chancellor replied: “It violates the same article of the Vienna Convention.”

“What is more serious, this or all the articles that have been permanently and repeatedly violated by the Mexican Embassy?” he asked.

Sommerfeld noticed this Mexico did not comply with Article 1 of the 1933 Montevideo Convention neither the 3rd of the Caracas Convention of 1954referring to what It is not legal to grant asylum to people accused of common crimesas in the case of Glas, prosecuted in a case for alleged misappropriation of funds in the reconstruction of the province of Manabí after the 2016 earthquake.

Glas also has two final convictions for the crimes of illicit association (related to the bribery scheme of the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht) e corruption (for the illicit financing of his political movement), for which he was in prison for five of the eight years he was sentenced to.

When asked whether a diplomatic channel could be opened with Mexico to dialogue, the chancellor replied: “Always, always, Ecuador is always open to strengthening international relations.”

Reestablish relationships?

For Sommerfeld the situation can be resolved “with the truth, by putting on the table what Mexico has lacked, what Ecuador has lacked, with the truth, understanding that both countries were hit by default“.

“But Ecuador has received a provocation, a repeated failure to comply and this is even more serious the interference of the statements of the president of Mexico(Andrés Manuel López Obrador) where he questions the legitimacy of the last elections, questions our free and democratic elections and, above all, questions a national mourning that we carry to this day,” he noted.

Last week López Obrador spoke about alleged electoral repercussions for the murder of former Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio.

Regardless of who is in power in Mexico, the chancellor said her country is open to “reestablishing relations, respecting the sovereignty of our country.”

“The issue will be resolved on a table in which both parties will have to present the truth”, he underlined and anticipated that Ecuador’s diplomatic corps is returning after the “unilateral rupture” of relations, but those consulted in the cities of Mexico and Monterrey “are dealing with the normal way”.