\n<\/p>\n
Mexico has severed diplomatic relations with Ecuador<\/a> after Ecuadorean police officers on Friday arrested Jorge Glas, an Ecuadorean politician who had been granted refuge in Mexico\u2019s Embassy in Quito.<\/p>\n That arrest, which Mexico described as a \u201cviolation\u201d of its sovereignty, capped days of growing tensions between the two Latin American countries. Ecuador has considered Mr. Glas a fugitive and said its police force was acting on an arrest warrant for Mr. Glas.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what to know about the politician at the center of the dispute.<\/p>\n Mr. Glas served in several ministerial roles under the longtime left-wing government<\/a> of a former Ecuadorean president, Rafael Correa. Mr. Glas\u2019s most notable role was as Mr. Correa\u2019s vice president, a position he held from 2013 to 2017.<\/p>\n His term as vice president in the subsequent government, led by Len\u00edn Moreno, lasted only a few months. In 2017, he was forced from office and sentenced to six years in prison after being found guilty<\/a> of receiving over $13.5 million dollars in bribes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The bribes had involved Odebrecht, an international construction giant that admitted to paying bribes in more than a dozen countries<\/a>. The corruption scandal implicated current and former officials in Latin America and has rocked its political establishment.<\/p>\n In 2020, a separate bribery case led to Mr. Glas being found guilty of accepting money in exchange for issuing public contracts between 2012 and 2016.<\/p>\n The case was closely watched, not only because of the involvement of Mr. Glas: among those eventually convicted of accepting some $8 million in bribes was Mr. Correa, the country\u2019s magnetic but divisive former president. Both Mr. Correa and Mr. Glas were sentenced to eight years<\/a> in prison, a conviction that Mr. Correa has claimed was politically motivated.<\/p>\n Mr. Glas was released early from prison in November 2022<\/a>, after lawyers argued that he was not safe behind bars. Facing more charges from Ecuadorean prosecutors over the alleged embezzlement of public funds, he sought asylum from Mexico in December. For months, he has stayed on the Mexican Embassy\u2019s grounds in Quito.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The former vice president\u2019s asylum status has for months been a growing point of contention between the two nations. Ecuador\u2019s Foreign Ministry said in March<\/a> that it had requested Mexico\u2019s permission to arrest Mr. Glas.<\/p>\n In the days leading up to Mr. Glas\u2019s arrest, the relationship between the two countries grew more strained after Mexico\u2019s president, Andr\u00e9s Manuel L\u00f3pez Obrador, appeared to question the legitimacy of Ecuador\u2019s most recent presidential election, and publicly commented on the assassination last year of an Ecuadorean political candidate.<\/p>\n Ecuador on Thursday criticized<\/a> Mr. L\u00f3pez Obrador for commenting on the assassination and declared Mexico\u2019s ambassador a \u201cpersona non grata,\u201d or unwelcome. In response, Mexico said that it had instructed its ambassador to return to Mexico. In the same release, Mexico said it would grant Mr. Glas political asylum<\/a> and condemned the increased presence of Ecuadorean authorities near the embassy.<\/p>\n Mexico has granted political asylum to other former officials in Latin American countries that have been accused of corruption, creating friction within the region. In 2019, it granted asylum<\/a> to Evo Morales, the former president of Bolivia, and in 2022 to the family of Pedro Castillo<\/a>, the former president of Peru.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n In the aftermath of Ecuador\u2019s arrest of Mr. Glas, local news reports showed two black cars, sirens blaring, driving away as police officers held back onlookers. Mexican officials immediately broke diplomatic relations<\/a> with Ecuador, calling the seizure of Mr. Glas a violation of international law.<\/p>\n Ecuador\u2019s government has said that the decision to arrest Mr. Glas was made because Mexico had abused its use of diplomatic immunities and privileges.<\/p>\n \u201cThe national government defends national sovereignty, without allowing anyone to interfere in the country\u2019s internal matters,\u201d said a statement from Ecuador\u2019s presidential office on Friday. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nJorge Glas is a former vice president of Ecuador.<\/h2>\n
He became mired in other bribery charges.<\/h2>\n
His arrest at the Mexican Embassy ruptured diplomatic relations with Ecuador.<\/h2>\n