The last few months have been busy for diplomacy in Latin America.
On April 5, local police stormed the Mexican embassy in Quito and arrested former Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge Glas — in what was widely perceived as a violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
The move was condemned around the region and the world, and led to both the severing of diplomatic relations and to Mexico filing a case against Ecuador in the International Court of Justice. Last month saw both the first day of the Hague-based court’s hearing, as well as the filing of a counterclaim by Ecuador.
Mexico has even requested Ecuador’s temporary expulsion from the United Nations. A few days later, Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa commented that he’d invite his Mexican counterpart, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, to eat ceviche and tacos and talk when he was ready. Mr. López Obrador, commonly known as AMLO, bristled at the suggestion and reiterated that the diplomatic crisis was not a frivolity.
However, amidst all the drama, it is worth noting that bilateral tensions did not begin with the early-April raid. A day prior, for example, Ecuador declared Mexico’s ambassador in the country persona non grata and demanded their departure in response to comments made by AMLO in which he had questioned the impact of the murder of a leading Ecuadorian presidential candidate on...
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