Nearly two months after the embassy raid, Ecuador is ‘ready’ to talk to Mexico and find a solution

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Nearly two months after police raided the Mexican embassy in Ecuador, the South American country’s government wants to restore communication with officials in Mexico and resolve the diplomatic rift that followed the extraordinary unusual use of force.

Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Gabriela Sommerfeld said in an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday that her country is “ready” for dialogue with Mexican officials, with the only non-negotiable issue being the release from prison of Ecuador’s former vice president, Jorge Glas, who was the target. of the April 5 raid.

Glas had been granted political asylum for hours before police broke into the embassy in the capital Quito, found him in a bedroom and dragged him out.

Sommerfeld said Ecuador had already accepted Mexico’s request to help a third country “as a diplomatic communication channel” but declined to identify the nation. A day earlier, Mexican Foreign Minister Alicia Bárcena told a radio station that the third country would “most likely” be Switzerland.

The raid, which was immediately condemned by governments around the world against Ecuador, prompted the warring nations to file complaints against each other in the International Court of Justice.

Diplomatic buildings are considered foreign territory and “inviolable” under the Vienna Conventions, and host country law enforcement agencies are not allowed to enter the country without the ambassador’s permission.

Glas, convicted in two corruption cases, had been living at the diplomatic complex since mid-December while on parole. Days after Mexico’s Foreign Relations Secretariat announced that he had appeared at the embassy and requested “entry and safeguards,” a judge revoked his parole and ordered him to serve the remaining sentence, a total of two years and 11 months .

Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa ordered authorities to raid the embassy, ​​a move he defended as necessary “to protect national security.” His government has argued that Glas was wanted because of his criminal convictions and not for political reasons, and has accused Mexico of violating the Vienna treaties by granting him asylum.

Meanwhile, the government of Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has imposed conditions on any rapprochement for the release of Glas, who is being held in a high-security prison in the port city of Guayaquil.

Mexico closed its embassy and two consulates immediately after the raid. Bárcena said the third country that will assist the warring nations will “protect” the Mexican embassy and the ambassador’s residence and facilitate the movement of the belongings of 18 officials.

Sommerfeld said trade between the two countries continues and so does the “attention to the citizens of both countries” facilitated by other embassies and international organizations.

When asked about the continued migration of Ecuadorians to the United States, she acknowledged that there has been a “strong increase” in migration over the past three years, which she attributed mainly to a lack of jobs and security.

Sommerfeld said officials estimate about 2.4 million Ecuadorians live outside their home country. That figure represents more than 10% of the country’s population.

Official data shows that just over 123,000 Ecuadorians did not return from their trips abroad last year. During the same period, approximately 120,000 Ecuadorians were detained at the U.S.-Mexico border, according to Sommerfeld.

Noboa’s government “is trying to solve the underlying problems: we need security, employment and education,” she said.

Gonzalo Solano, The Associated Press