MANAGUA, Nicaragua — Nicaragua announced on Saturday the termination of all diplomatic relations with Ecuador, responding to a police raid on the Mexican Embassy in Quito where former Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge Glas had sought political asylum.
According to Philippines News Agency, the decision comes after Ecuadorian police forcefully entered the Mexican Embassy in Quito, arresting Jorge Glas. The Nicaraguan administration described the event as "unusual and reprehensible," prompting their "forceful, emphatic and irrevocable" decision to sever diplomatic ties with Ecuador. This move mirrored Mexico's immediate response, as Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador also cut diplomatic relations with Ecuador, citing the raid as a "flagrant violation of international law and the sovereignty of Mexico."
The statement from Nicaragua further recounted the withdrawal of its ambassador from Quito in 2020, a measure taken after the Ecuadorian government revoked its support for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who had been sheltered in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London for seven years.
Nicaragua's statement expressed solidarity with Mexico, pledging support for any legal actions that might follow due to the raid. The incident has drawn widespread condemnation from across Latin America, with leaders unanimously denouncing Ecuador's actions as a breach of international diplomatic norms.
Chilean President Gabriel Boric and Colombian President Gustavo Petro have voiced their concerns, highlighting the violation of the right to asylum and the principles established by the 1961 Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which safeguards the inviolability of embassy premises. Petro has advocated for an intervention by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in support of Glas, who has been at the Mexican Embassy since December 17 and whose rights, according to Petro, were "violated in a barbaric way."
Additionally, the Colombian Foreign Ministry has requested an extraordinary meeting of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, currently presided over by Honduras, to discuss the diplomatic fallout. Venezuela, along with other nations in the region including Brazil, Honduras, Bolivia, and Argentina, has condemned the raid, with Venezuelan authorities warning of a potential era of oppression in Ecuador marked by the rise of neofascism.
The international community is urged to respond to these actions, which are seen as a threat to the integrity and stability of the Americas.