Mexico takes Ecuador to international court over embassy raid

This handout picture released by the Ecuadorian Police shows former Ecuadorian vice president Jorge Glas (C) being escorted by members of the police prior to his transfer to the maximum security prison La Roca in Guayaquil at the Mariscal Sucre International Airport in Quito on April 6, 2024. Ecuadorian authorities stormed the Mexican embassy in Quito on April 5 to arrest former vice president Jorge Glas, who had been granted political asylum there, prompting Mexico to sever diplomatic ties after the “violation of international law”. (Photo by Handout / Ecuadorian Police / AFP)

Mexico City, Mexico — Mexico filed a lawsuit against Ecuador Thursday at the International Court of Justice over the storming of its embassy in Quito, saying it wanted the South American country “suspended” from the United Nations.

Foreign Minister Alicia Barcena told a press conference that Mexico’s lawsuit asks that Ecuador be suspended from the UN unless it issues a public apology “recognizing the violations of the fundamental principles and norms of international law.”

READ: What fallout awaits Ecuador after raiding Mexico embassy?

She said the goal was to “guarantee the reparation of the moral damage inflicted on the Mexican state and its nationals.”

Security forces stormed the embassy on Friday night to arrest former Ecuadoran vice president Jorge Glas, who is wanted on corruption charges and had been granted asylum by Mexico.

The rare incursion on diplomatic territory sparked an international outcry, and led Mexico to break ties with Ecuador, pulling its diplomats out of the country.

At the same press conference, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said the goal of the suit was “that this doesn’t repeat itself in any other country in the world, that international law is guaranteed.”

Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa has defended the embassy raid as necessary to detain Glas because he posed a flight risk, saying he was willing to “resolve any difference” with Mexico.

‘Harm caused’ 

The Hague-based ICJ — set up after World War II to rule in disputes between countries — confirmed late Thursday it had received the application.

In its application, Mexico asks the judges to “adjudge and declare that Ecuador is responsible of the harm that the violations of its international obligations have caused and are still causing to Mexico.”

READ: Int’l leaders condemn Ecuador after cops break into Mexican Embassy

It also wants the court to “suspend Ecuador as a member of the United Nations” until it issues a public apology and “to guarantee the reparation to the moral harm inflicted” on Mexico and its citizens.

A spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the grounds for suspending a country from the UN are outlined in the global body’s charter.

“It’s an issue for Member States to decide,” Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York, adding “we do very much hope that the tensions between Ecuador and Mexico are dealt with through dialogue.”

While a proper hearing into the matter may take several years, Mexico has also asked international judges to hand down “provisional measures” — a set of emergency orders — to protect its diplomatic officials.

“The Mexican Embassy in Ecuador, along with its property and archives, faces the risk of not being protected or further being violated again,” Mexico said in its application.

Among the emergency measures, Mexico is asking the judges to order Quito to “allow the Mexican government to clear diplomatic premises and the private residence of diplomatic agents.”

‘Hunger strike’ 

After his capture, Glas, 54, was taken to a maximum security jail in Ecuador’s port city of Guayaquil — notorious for violent prison riots and drug-related gang violence.

His friend and former boss Rafael Correa, who was president between 2007 and 2017, wrote on X Wednesday that Glas “is on a hunger strike.”

Glas was returned to prison Tuesday after a short hospital stay that officials said was brought on by his refusal to eat for 24 hours.

Correa claimed in his social media that “the medical emergency was a suicide attempt” by Glas.

Correa is living in exile in Belgium to avoid serving an eight-year corruption sentence in Ecuador.

Glas, who had already served time on corruption charges, was the subject of a fresh arrest warrant for allegedly diverting funds intended for reconstruction efforts after a devastating earthquake in 2016.

The embassy intrusion triggered a political storm. Mexico, several other Latin American states, Spain, the European Union, United States and the UN chief condemned it as a violation of the 1961 Vienna Convention governing diplomatic relations.

A German foreign ministry source confirmed that Glas also has German citizenship.

“We are following Mr Glas’s case very closely and are trying to seek direct contact with him through the Ecuadoran authorities,” the source told AFP.