International leaders condemn Ecuador after police break into the Mexican Embassy in Quito

By REGINA GARCIA CANO and GABRIELA MOLINA
Associated Press

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — International leaders have condemned Ecuador after police in the country’s capital broke into the Mexican Embassy on Friday to arrest a former vice president who had been granted political asylum. The raid prompted Mexico’s president to break off diplomatic relations with Ecuador. Diplomatic premises are considered foreign soil and “inviolable” under the Vienna treaties and host country law enforcement agencies are not allowed to enter without the permission of the ambassador. Police broke through the external doors of the embassy in Quito to arrest Jorge Glas, who had been residing there since December. He had sought asylum after being indicted on corruption charges and it had been granted hours earlier.