Venezuela closes its embassy in Ecuador to protest the police raid on the Mexican Embassy there

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro ordered the closure of his country’s embassy and consulates in Ecuador on Tuesday in solidarity with Mexico in its protest over a raid by Ecuadorian authorities on the Mexican Embassy in Quito.

Maduro and other presidents participating in a virtual meeting of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States expressed their support for Mexico's request to have the United Nations suspend Ecuador from the world body over the April 5 raid. But Maduro was the only one to announce the closure of diplomatic outposts and recall of personnel.

“The condemnation has been unanimous, total, absolute,” Maduro said, referring to the excoriation Ecuador's move has drawn. “No one today in this world comes out to defend this barbaric act.”

Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa ordered authorities to raid the Mexican Embassy to arrest the country's former Vice President Jorge Glas, a convicted criminal and fugitive who had been living there since December. Mexico granted him asylum hours before police found Glas in a bedroom and dragged him out.

The extraordinarily unusual use of force drew immediate condemnation from governments around the world because diplomatic premises are considered foreign soil and “inviolable” under the Vienna treaties.

Noboa, who did not participate in Tuesday's meeting, said last week that he authorized the raid “to protect national security." His government has argued that Glas was wanted for his criminal convictions for corruption and not political reasons and has accused Mexico of violating the Vienna treaties by granting him asylum.

Mexico severed diplomatic relations with Ecuador immediately after the raid and recalled its diplomatic mission. It hoped to use the CELAC meeting to rally a unified front for its case both at the U.N. and before the International Court of Justice.

Honduras President Xiomara Castro, who currently leads CELAC, opened Tuesday's meeting by reading a proposed statement condemning Ecuador’s actions. She then presented a video of Ecuadorian authorities breaking into Mexico’s Embassy, along with dramatic music.

Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador followed, repeating his demand that Ecuador be suspended from the United Nations until it apologizes and promises to never do it again.

“If we don’t do this, we are not going to be able to live in a world ruled by norms, by laws,” López Obrador said. “We would be living in the world of the gorillas."

The Mexican president cited Augusto Pinochet, who ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990, and said even Pinochet did not raid Mexico's embassy when Chilean dissidents sought refuge there. “Pinochet didn’t dare to invade our embassy, that fearsome dictator," López Obrador said.

Maduro said he has ordered all diplomatic personnel back to Venezuela “until international law is expressly restored in Ecuador.”

Maduro said Glas, who is now being held at a maximum-security prison in the port city of Guayaquil, “must be returned to the Mexican embassy and have his political asylum recognized.”

Noboa drew additional criticism for not appearing at CELAC's virtual gathering. While leaders questioned his decision, he posted an Instagram video promoting improvements to law enforcement infrastructure and another one announcing an emergency declaration covering the country's electricity sector amid hours-long power outages in Quito.

“He should have shown up and assumed responsibility for himself in front of Ecuador, in front of Latin America, in front of the Caribbean, in front of the world and he has not shown his face," Maduro said. "I can say from Venezuela that he has gone into hiding and the people of Ecuador should know it.”

Venezuela’s Embassy in Quito appeared closed Tuesday. People trying to take care of paperwork remained outside, along with reporters, unable to get answers from embassy staff.

Mexico’s Foreign Affairs Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Venezuela’s announcement.

Under Maduro’s 11-year presidency, more than 7.7 million Venezuelans have left their home country, and most have settled elsewhere in Latin America and in the Caribbean. Ecuador has the sixth-largest concentration of Venezuelan migrants.

Ecuadorian officials and nongovernmental organizations that assist migrants estimate that 475,000 Venezuelans live in Ecuador. Of those more than 231,000 live permanently and legally there, according to Ecuador’s 2023 census.

The Venezuelan flag flies over the building where the Venezuelan embassy is located in Quito, Ecuador, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro ordered the closure of his country's embassy and consulates in Ecuador on Tuesday in solidarity with Mexico in its protest over a raid by Ecuadorian authorities on the Mexican embassy in Quito. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)

A person uses a cell phone outside the Venezuelan embassy in Quito, Ecuador, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro ordered the closure of his country's embassy and consulates in Ecuador on Tuesday in solidarity with Mexico in its protest over a raid by Ecuadorian authorities on the Mexican embassy in Quito. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)

People wait to enter the Venezuelan embassy where Ecuadorian police stand guard in Quito, Ecuador, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro ordered the closure of his country's embassy and consulates in Ecuador on Tuesday in solidarity with Mexico in its protest over a raid by Ecuadorian authorities on the Mexican embassy in Quito. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)

People stand outside the Venezuelan embassy in Quito, Ecuador, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro ordered the closure of his country's embassy and consulates in Ecuador on Tuesday in solidarity with Mexico in its protest over a raid by Ecuadorian authorities on the Mexican embassy in Quito. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)

People stand outside the Venezuelan embassy in Quito, Ecuador, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro ordered the closure of his country's embassy and consulates in Ecuador on Tuesday in solidarity with Mexico in its protest over a raid by Ecuadorian authorities on the Mexican embassy in Quito. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)

People stand outside the Venezuelan embassy in Quito, Ecuador, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro ordered the closure of his country's embassy and consulates in Ecuador on Tuesday in solidarity with Mexico in its protest over a raid by Ecuadorian authorities on the Mexican embassy in Quito. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador gives his regularly scheduled morning press conference at the National Palace in Mexico City, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

FILE - Ecuador's Vice President Jorge Glas speaks during an interview at his office in Quito, Ecuador, Sept. 12, 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)

Police attempt to break into the Mexican embassy in Quito, Ecuador, Friday, April 5, 2024, following Mexico's granting of asylum to former Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge Glas, who had sought refuge there. Police later forcibly broke into the embassy through another entrance. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)

Supporters of former Vice President Jorge Glas cheer after an Ecuadorian court of justice declared that his arrest inside Mexico's embassy was illegal, in Quito, Ecuador, Friday, April 12, 2024. However the court ordered that Glas remain in prison to serve a pending sentence for two corruption cases in which he was convicted. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)

FILE - Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro attends a meeting at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Feb. 20, 2024. Maduro on April 16, 2024, ordered the closure of his country’s embassy and consulates in Ecuador in solidarity with Mexico in its protest over a raid by Ecuadorian authorities on the Mexican embassy in Quito. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)

SEATTLE (AP) — A year removed from being honored as one of the top coaches in the NHL, Dave Hakstol ended up taking the fall for the underachievement of the Seattle Kraken.

Hakstol was fired Monday as the head coach of the Kraken after the third-year franchise took a significant step back following a playoff appearance in their second season.

Hakstol was a finalist for the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year last season as Seattle finished with 100 points and reached the Western Conference semifinals in its second year.

But the Kraken failed to match expectations this season and spent most of the year trying to climb back into playoff contention after a terrible start. Seattle failed to build on the success of that playoff run and stunted the momentum the young franchise was trying to build in the league's newest hockey market.

“It's never an easy day. It's never an easy decision. We let a guy who is a good coach and a really good person go and it's not easy,” Seattle general manager Ron Francis said. “But looking at our organization and just looking at the season, I thought we were a little more inconsistent than we had been, a few too many losing streaks and losing streaks of significant numbers and so we just felt it was time to try a new voice.”

Seattle finished tied for fifth in the Pacific Division after going 34-35-13 with 81 points, and was officially eliminated from playoff contention with two weeks left in the regular season.

Hakstol went 107-112-27 in his three seasons in charge of the Kraken. He was rewarded with a two-year extension after last season when Seattle reached the second round of the playoffs and kept Hakstol under contract through the 2025-26 season.

“We had a real good season last year, went probably better than we expected and our staff did a good job and they got rewarded for it,” Francis said. “This season didn't go as well as we had hoped and then you got to look at things and try and make decisions at the end of the season. That's where we ended up at this point today.”

Francis hinted that changes could be coming less than a week after the season ended when he hedged and said a review was underway to analyze the entire coaching staff given the opportunity to confirm Hakstol would get a fourth season.

A week later, Hakstol was out. Francis also said assistant coach Paul McFarland would not return.

Seattle was unable to maintain the style of play that led to its success last season and couldn’t overcome significant injuries to Andre Burakovsky, Brandon Tanev and Philipp Grubauer early in the season. Seattle also played most of the final portion of the season without top defenseman Vince Dunn due to a neck injury.

Seattle started this season 8-14-7 including an eight-game losing streak, before a big turnaround in late December and January that pushed the Kraken back into the playoff conversation. But the Kraken went just 13-16-3 after the All-Star break and a painful overtime loss at home to Vegas on March 12 brought an end to any reasonable playoff aspirations.

Scoring goals was a problem that the Kraken couldn’t solve all season. Seattle was 29th in the league in goals scored, 29th in shooting percentage and 18th on the power play, negating a season of strong defense and goaltending.

Hakstol was a surprise choice when Seattle hired him to be the first coach in franchise history. His first stint as a coach in the NHL started strong in Philadelphia in 2015-16 with two playoff appearances in his first three seasons. But it fell apart in the fourth season and he was fired 25 games into that year with the Flyers at 8-11-6 and just 22 points.

It was a rough inaugural season for Seattle as the team dealt with the expectations of trying to match what Vegas did in its expansion season while balancing COVID-19 restrictions that impacted much of that first season. Seattle finished at 27-49-6 in that first season but rebounded in Year 2 when the Kraken finished with 100 points, toppled defending champion Colorado in the first round of the playoffs and took Dallas to a Game 7 in the Western Conference semifinals.

Todd McLellan and 2019 Stanley Cup winner Craig Berube are among the experienced NHL head coaches available, pending more movement around the league in the coming weeks. Francis said he didn't have a timeline for trying to settle on a replacement.

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FILE - Seattle Kraken head coach Dave Hakstol, top center, reacts on the bench during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the San Jose Sharks in San Jose, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024. The Seattle Kraken fired coach Dave Hakstol on Monday, April 29, 2024, after the third-year franchise took a significant step back following a playoff appearance in their second season. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

FILE - Seattle Kraken head coach Dave Hakstol looks on from the bench against the Colorado Avalanche during the third period of Game 4 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Monday, April 24, 2023, in Seattle. The Seattle Kraken fired coach Dave Hakstol on Monday, April 29, 2024, after the third-year franchise took a significant step back following a playoff appearance in their second season.(AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)