On Friday night, ignoring international law, the National Police of Ecuador stormed the Mexican Embassy in Quito, to kidnap the former Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge Glas.
After the invasion of the diplomatic headquarters, the President of Mexico, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, ordered the breaking of diplomatic relations with that country.
The Mexican Foreign Ministry immediately denounced the flagrant violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, as well as the injuries suffered by Mexican diplomatic personnel. Roberto Canseco, for example, who tried to defend the integrity of the Embassy, was beaten by the police forces.
Article 22 of the Convention, which dates from April 18, 1961, stipulates: "The premises of the mission are inviolable. The agents of the receiving State may not enter them without the consent of the head of the mission".
In view of this repudiatory act, international condemnation was not long in coming, different Latin American countries condemned the assault and expressed their deep concern. The presidents of Cuba, Venezuela, Honduras, Colombia and Bolivia; the governments of Chile and Peru; the authorities of Guatemala, as well as the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay rejected the violation of international law.
For its part, the Government of Nicaragua announced on Saturday the rupture of "all diplomatic relations" with Ecuador.
What can be expected from those who turn international law into a dead letter?
One only has to be aware of what is happening in Palestine, and of the impunity enjoyed by the aggressors; of the actions of economic war against Cuba; of the blockade and the theft of Venezuelan assets and foreign currency reserves, all similar examples of arrogance and unilateral aggressions.
Just a few days ago, Israel's bombing of the Iranian Consulate in Damascus, Syria, was very serious.
However, this is not an isolated case in Quito. Several repudiatory events of this type have occurred throughout history. Among them, the assault and burning of the Spanish Embassy in Guatemala by agents of the State on January 31, 1980.
In Cuba, the murder of ten young revolutionaries by police officers of the dictatorial regime of Fulgencio Batista, who violated the diplomatic immunity of the Embassy of Haiti, was horrendous.
After the assault on the Mexican Embassy in Ecuador, the mobilization of the international community should not only condemn the disrespect of a Convention, but also demand for the life of Jorge Glas, who is now in real danger.
The action is not only a "kick" to the door of an Embassy, but to the international consensus, to the regional stability, and to the rationality that should characterize all acts of diplomacy.
