Former Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge Glas. Photo: Google

By KELIN DILLON

On Wednesday, April 10, the majority of countries represented in the Organization of American States (OAS) Permanent Council voted to condemn Ecuadorian police’s forceful April 5 raid on the Mexican embassy in Quito, Ecuador.

With 29 votes in favor of the resolution proposed by Colombia, the OAS Permanent Council officially recognized the raid on Mexico’s diplomatic headquarters to remove former Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge Glas – who sought political asylum in the Mexican embassy in Quito back in December 2023 under claims of political persecution – as a violation of the 1961 Vienna Convention.

Ecuador was the only country to vote against the resolution, while El Salvador abstained from voting on the matter and Mexico and Venezuela were absent from the vote.

“The Permanent Council resolves to strongly condemn the intrusion into the facilities of the Embassy of Mexico in Ecuador and the acts of violence carried out against the integrity and dignity of the diplomatic personnel of the embassy,” read the resolution.

The OAS went on to recommend that Mexico and Ecuador “initiate a dialogue and take immediate actions to resolve this serious matter constructively.”

For her part, Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Gabriela Sommerfeld characterized the resolution as “fair” but noted that Ecuador would continue to “enforce our version of the events.”

The Ecuadorian government previously justified their breach of the Mexican consulate by claiming that Mexico’s acceptance of Glas, who has been accused of bribery and embezzlement, as a refugee into its Quito embassy had hindered the “functioning of the Ecuadorian judicial system” and shown Mexico’s promotion of impunity.

“We hoped that Mexico would arrange for the departure of Glas, who did not meet the requirements for asylum and who in no way could be considered politically persecuted,” added Sommerfeld.

For his part, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) celebrated the OAS resolution during his daily morning press conference on Wednesday, April 10.

“Even those abroad who have held undemocratic and conservative positions, such as the government of Argentina, expressed their rejection of authoritarianism in the storming of our embassy and among the OAS,” said López Obrador at the time.