Ecuador accused Mexico of violating international obligations by granting asylum to its former vice president, Jorge Glas. The lawsuit was filed on April 29 at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague.
Glas had previously been sentenced to prison in Ecuador for corruption related to Odebrecht, a Brazilian construction company. After his release from prison in November 2022, he sought refuge at the Mexican embassy in Quito after facing a new arrest warrant for embezzling earthquake relief funds.
Mexico City severed diplomatic relations with Quito and filed a counterclaim against Ecuador at the ICJ. The start of the trial is scheduled for April 30. Various countries and organizations, including the United States, the European Union and the United Nations, have criticized Ecuador for violating the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa defended the attack as necessary to ensure that justice was served and that Glas could not escape prosecution. However, many critics have accused Ecuador of overstepping its bounds and violating international law by attempting to arrest Glas at the Mexican embassy.