Abstract
In December 2023, former Vice-President of Ecuador, Jorge Glas, sought political asylum in the Mexican Embassy located in Quito, Ecuador. On April 5, 2024, following a week of political discourse between the Ecuadorian and Mexican governments, the Mexican government granted Glas political asylum. In their announcement, Mexico reminded Ecuador that the 1954 Caracas Convention on Diplomatic Asylum and the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations protected both Glas and the employees within the Mexican embassy. On the evening of Mexico’s announcement, Ecuadorian agents operating under executive authority entered the Mexican embassy without consent, injured an employee of the Mexican embassy and forcefully removed Glas.
This Comment argues that Ecuador violated the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the 1954 Caracas Convention on Diplomatic Asylum by forcefully extracting Glas from the Mexican Embassy. Additionally, it looks at Mexico’s violation of the 1954 Caracas Convention on Diplomatic Asylum. Finally, this Comment recommends that Ecuador face severe repercussions from the ICJ and the United Nations to deter other countries from similar actions.