Ecuador and Mexico were feuding over election and asylum before embassy break-in

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A spat between Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador spiraled into a full-blown diplomatic crisis when Ecuadorian police raided Mexico’s embassy Friday night in an extremely rare show of force that legal experts, presidents and diplomats have deemed a violation of long-established international accords.

With Noboa's authorization, police broke into the embassy to arrest Ecuador's former Vice President Jorge Glas, a convicted criminal and fugitive who had been living there since December. In the months before officers stormed the diplomatic facility, relations between the countries became strained and then reached breaking point.

Here's what happened ahead of the raid:

Mexico's Foreign Relations Secretariat announced that Glas, who was on parole, had shown up at the embassy in Quito, the capital, and asked for “entry and safeguard,” fearing for his "personal safety and freedom.” The agency said he had been allowed in “as a guest” based on Mexico's legal framework of international protection of persons and other constitutional and legal norms.

Ecuador's government immediately requested that Mexican officials ask Glas to leave the embassy.

Ecuador's Attorney General Diana Salazar claimed that Glas was granted parole due to bribes that Ecuadorian drug trafficker Leandro Norero, known as “El Patrón,” had paid to judges and other officials across the judicial system. Salazar told a TV station that a conversation obtained from a cellphone linked to Norero described a payment as a “little favor” and that “they will collect it when Mr. Jorge Glas is president.”

The Ecuadorian government in a statement said it would “deplore” the possibility of Glas being granted asylum and that, should that occur, it would act “with absolute firmness based on the high interests of the State”.

The foreign ministry also said it had summoned Mexico's Ambassador Raquel Serur to inform her that granting asylum “would not be lawful” based on the 1954 Convention on Diplomatic Asylum.

The convention states that “It is not lawful to grant asylum to persons who, at the time of requesting it, are accused or prosecuted before competent ordinary courts.”

Judge Melissa Muñoz ruled that Glas did not comply with one of the legal requirements for his parole, and she ordered his arrest. She ruled Glas must serve out the rest of his sentence, totaling two years and 11 months.

Glas had been convicted in two separate bribery and corruption cases, one tied to the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht and the other stemming from a scheme that collected bribes for public procurement. He was serving the sentences concurrently.

His lawyers had argued he was entitled to parole because he had served 60% of his eight-year sentence for his role in the bribery scheme. They said the law allows inmates parole if they have served 40% of their sentence and met other requirements.

Attorney Edison Loaiza said his client would not turn himself in because “his life and his integrity are at risk” in prison, where he said he had suffered threats and extortion. Loaiza added he would appeal Muñoz’s decision.

Glas is also under investigation over his management of funds meant for reconstruction efforts following a 2016 earthquake that killed hundreds of people.

The Ecuadorian foreign ministry announced on the social media platform X that the government had requested “consent" from the Mexican Embassy "so that law enforcement agencies can comply with the order of the National Court of Justice" and arrest Glas.

It is unclear whether Mexico responded to the request by Ecuadorian officials.

On a tangent in his morning press briefing, Mexico’s President López Obrador suggested that a candidate “suspiciously” won Ecuador’s elections after the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, who was shot leaving a campaign event in August.

While he did not mention Noboa by name, López Obrador suggested the candidate won the election by “taking advantage of the moment.” He added that violence remains widespread in Ecuador.

Ecuador's government declared Ambassador Serur persona non grata because of López Obrador's questioning of the election result and ordered her to leave the country. She had been Mexico's ambassador to Ecuador since 2019.

López Obrador said he would send a military plane to bring the ambassador home.

Mexico's foreign relations secretariat in a statement rejected the “increased presence of Ecuadorian police forces” outside its Quito embassy, characterizing it as “harassment” and "a flagrant violation of the Geneva Convention.” The Mexican government then granted Glas political asylum.

Hours later, police broke through the external doors of the embassy. Noboa authorized the raid on the grounds that Glas allegedly represented an imminent flight risk.

Glas’ attorney, Sonia Vera, told The Associated Press that officers broke into his room and he resisted when they attempted to put his hands behind his back. She said the officers then “knocked him to the floor, kicked him in the head, in the spine, in the legs, the hands,” and when he “couldn’t walk, they dragged him out.”

That night, López Obrador announced his government had severed diplomatic ties with Ecuador, while Mexico's foreign relations secretary said it will challenge the raid at the World Court in The Hague.

Ecuadorian authorities, hours later, would take Glas to a maximum-security prison in the port city of Guayaquil.

Associated Press writer Megan Janetsky in Mexico City contributed to this report.

Mexican police stand guard outside the Ecuadorian Embassy, in Mexico City, Saturday, April 6, 2024. The Mexican president moved to break off diplomatic ties with Ecuador after police broke into the Mexican Embassy in Quito to arrest a former vice president who had sought political asylum there after being indicted on corruption charges. (AP Photo/Ginnette Riquelme)

Police stand guard at the entrance of the penitentiary where former Vice President Jorge Glas is being held, in Guayaquil, Ecuador, Saturday, April 6, 2024. Ecuadorian police broke through the external doors of the Mexican Embassy in Quito, Friday evening, to arrest Glas, who had been residing there since December. (AP Photo/Cesar Munoz)

FILE - Ecuador's Vice President Jorge Glas leaves the General Attorney's Office after making a voluntary statement regarding his alleged connection with two corruption cases in Quito, Ecuador, Aug. 9, 2017. Ecuadorian police broke through the external doors of the Mexican Embassy in Quito, Friday, April 6, 2024, to arrest Glas, who had been residing there since December. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa, File)

A military vehicle transports former Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge Glas from the detention center where he was held after police broke into the Mexican Embassy to arrest him in Quito, Ecuador, Saturday, April 6, 2024. Glas, who held the vice presidency of Ecuador between 2013 and 2018, was convicted of corruption and had been taking refuge in the embassy since December. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa).

A supporter of former Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge Glas protests as a military vehicle transports him from the detention center he was held following his arrest at the Mexican Embassy in Quito Ecuador, Saturday, April 6, 2024. Glas, who held the vice presidency of Ecuador between 2013 and 2018, was convicted of corruption and had been taking refuge in the embassy since December. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)

Israel's military has ordered tens of thousands of people in the southern Gaza city of Rafah to begin evacuating, signaling that a long-promised ground invasion could be imminent.

The announcement on Monday complicated last-ditch efforts by international mediators to broker a cease-fire. Hamas and Qatar, a key mediator, have warned that an invasion of Rafah could derail the talks.

Israel has described Rafah as the last significant Hamas stronghold after seven months of war, and its leaders have repeatedly said they need to carry out a ground invasion to defeat the Islamic militant group.

Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, an army spokesman, said some 100,000 people were being ordered to move to a nearby Israel-declared humanitarian zone called Muwasi. He said Israel was preparing a “limited scope operation” and would not say whether this was the beginning of a broader invasion of the city.

The Israel-Hamas war has driven around 80% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million from their homes and caused vast destruction in several towns and cities. The death toll in Gaza has soared to more than 34,500 people, according to local health officials.

The war began Oct. 7 when Hamas attacked southern Israel, abducting about 250 people and killing around 1,200, mostly civilians. Israel says militants still hold around 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 others.

Currently:

— Israeli army tells Palestinians to evacuate parts of Rafah ahead of an expected assault

— Hamas says latest cease-fire talks have ended. Israel vows military operation in ‘very near future’

— Israel orders Al Jazeera to close its local operation and seizes some of its equipment

— Netanyahu uses Holocaust ceremony to brush off international pressure against Gaza offensive

— Anti-war protesters leave USC after police arrive, while Northeastern ceremony proceeds calmly

— Israeli strike kills 4 civilians in southern Lebanon, state media says

Follow AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

Here's the latest:

RAFAH, Gaza Strip -- The United Nations agency serving Palestinian refugees says it will not comply with an Israeli military order to evacuate parts of the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

Juliette Touma, communications director for UNRWA, says the agency has not evacuated the area and has no plans to do so. She says it has thousands of employees in the city.

“UNRWA will not take part in any forced evacuation of the population in Rafah or elsewhere in Gaza,” she said. “We are committed to staying and delivering humanitarian assistance.” She called for a cease-fire.

Relations between Israel and UNRWA have long been strained and further deteriorated during the seven-month war.

Israel has accused UNRWA of collaborating with the Hamas militant group and called for the agency’s closure.

UNRWA, the largest international provider of aid and services in Gaza, denies the accusations.

BERLIN — Germany’s Foreign Office on Monday condemned the shutdown of Qatar’s Al Jazeera satellite news network in Israel.

The Foreign Office wrote on X that “a free and diverse press landscape is the cornerstone of every liberal democracy. In times of conflict especially, it is of crucial importance to protect the freedom of the press.”

“The decision of the Israeli authorities to shut down Al Jazeera in Israel is the wrong signal,” the ministry said.

Germany has for decades been a staunch supporter of Israel. Berlin, however, has gradually shifted its tone as civilian casualties in Gaza have soared, becoming increasingly critical of the humanitarian situation in Gaza and speaking out against a ground offensive in Rafah.

JERUSALEM — The Israeli army has ordered tens of thousands of people in the southern Gaza city of Rafah to begin evacuating, signaling that a long-promised ground invasion could be imminent.

The announcement on Monday complicated last-ditch efforts by international mediators, including the director of the CIA, to broker a cease-fire. Hamas and Qatar, a key mediator, have warned that an invasion of Rafah could derail the talks.

Israel has described Rafah as the last significant Hamas stronghold after seven months of war, and its leaders have repeatedly said they need to carry out a ground invasion to defeat the Islamic militant group.

Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, an army spokesman, said some 100,000 people were being ordered to move to a nearby Israel-declared humanitarian zone called Muwasi. He said Israel was preparing a “limited scope operation” and would not say whether this was the beginning of a broader invasion of the city. But last October, Israel did not formally announce the launch of a ground invasion that continues to this day.

BEIRUT — An Israeli airstrike on northeastern Lebanon wounded three people and destroyed a building, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency says.

The strike on the village of Safri early Monday targeted a factory in the eastern Bekaa Valley, the agency said without giving further details.

The Israeli military said its fighter jets struck a Hezbollah military structure in Safri.

Monday’s strike came after a tense day along the Lebanon-Israel border during which an Israeli airstrike on a village near the border killed four Lebanese civilians.

The militant Hezbollah group said it fired dozens of rockets in retaliation toward northern Israel.

The Lebanon-Israel border has seen almost daily exchange of fire since a day after the Israel-Hamas war started on Oct. 7.

Israeli strikes have killed more than 350 people in Lebanon, most of them fighters with Hezbollah and allied groups but also including more than 50 civilians. In Israel, strikes from Lebanon have killed at least 10 civilians and 12 soldiers.

The office of late Al Jazeera network journalist Shireen Abu Akleh is decorated with memorial items, inside the network's office, in the West Bank city of Ramallah Sunday, May 5, 2024. Israel ordered the local offices of Qatar's Al Jazeera satellite news network to close Sunday, escalating a long-running feud between the broadcaster and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hard-line government as Doha-mediated cease-fire negotiations with Hamas hang in the balance. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

Palestinians react next to the bodies of their relatives who were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza Stirp, at the Al Aqsa hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza, Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinians react next to the bodies of their relatives who were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza Stirp, at the Al Aqsa hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza, Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

A Palestinian woman mourns her relative, 7-month old baby Hani Qeshta, who was killed in an Israeli bombardment on a residential building with Qeshta's family, at the morgue of Al Najjar hospital in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ismael Abu Dayyah)

Israeli soldiers drive a tank at a staging ground near the border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel, Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)

The Qeshta family is seen in body bags at the morgue of Al Najjar hospital in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Sunday, May 5, 2024. The family was killed in an Israeli bombardment on a residential building in Rafah. (AP Photo/Ismael Abu Dayyah)