Mexico says it is breaking off diplomatic ties with Ecuador after Ecuadorian police broke into its embassy in Quito to arrest a former vice-president who was seeking political asylum there after being indicted on corruption charges.
Nicaragua followed suit and formally severed "all diplomatic relations" with Ecuador on Saturday (local time), pointing to the raid on Mexico's embassy as a flagrant violation of international law.
Jorge Glas, who had been convicted of bribery and corruption charges and was arguably the most wanted man in Ecuador, had been residing in Mexico's embassy since December, claiming he was the victim of political persecution as a diplomatic rift between the two countries deepened.
After Mexico granted his request for political asylum on Friday, Ecuadorian police forced their way into the embassy to arrest him, breaking through the main external doors and entering the main patio area to get to Glas.
Roberto Canseco, the head of the Mexican consular section in Quito, spoke to local media outside the embassy afterwards, calling the raid "totally outside the norm".
"This is not possible. It cannot be. This is crazy," he said.
"I am very worried because they could kill him. There is no basis to do this."
Defending its decision to raid the embassy, Ecuador's presidency said in a statement: "Ecuador is a sovereign nation and we are not going to allow any criminal to stay free."
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador fired back, calling Glas's detention an "authoritarian act" and "a flagrant violation of international law and the sovereignty of Mexico"
He then announced the suspension of diplomatic ties between the two countries.
Alicia Bárcena, Mexico's secretary of foreign relations, said a number of diplomats suffered injuries during the raid, which she said violated the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
Ms Bárcena said Mexico would take the case to the International Court of Justice "to denounce Ecuador's responsibility for violations of international law".
She also said Mexican diplomats were now waiting for the Ecuadorian government to offer the necessary guarantees for their return home.
The Mexican embassy in Quito remained under heavy police guard late on Friday.
Ecuador's foreign ministry and Ecuador's ministry of the interior did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Tensions between the two countries had begun to rise a day earlier when Mr López Obrador made statements about the last Ecuadorian elections, which were won by President Daniel Noboa on the back of promises to combat drug gangs and tame spiking violence.
The Ecuadorian government considered the comments "very unfortunate".
In retaliation, it declared the Mexican ambassador persona non grata, ordering her to leave the country.
AP/Reuters/ABC
