Link to article: https://apnews.com/article/mexico-ecuador-embassy-international-court-of-justice-8ccb69cdf7271f8a3c2ca6433bcbc4eb
Mexico’s President is asking the United Nations to suspend Ecuador after Ecuadorian authorities forcefully entered the Mexican embassy in Quito. The dispute is based on Ecuador’s attempt to arrest its former Vice President, who sought asylum in Mexico. Mexico responded by filing a complaint at the International Court of Justice, demanding Ecuador’s suspension and seeking reparations for the embassy raid. President López Obrador demanded a public apology and assurances against similar actions in the future. Ecuador defended its actions, arguing they were based on criminal charges against the individual. This diplomatic dispute has strained relations between the two countries and raised other issues including border control.
Mexico is justified in being mad at Ecuador for the Ecuadorian police raid on the Mexican embassy in Quito. Embassies are considered the land of whatever nation it belongs to, breaching the embassy in search of the former vice president could be taken as a breach in sovereignty. Mexico’s decision to file a complaint with the International Court of Justice and demand an apology and reparations from Ecuador shows the severity of the issue. Mexico’s outrage is also warranted because they need to safeguard their diplomatic rights and privileges. The International Court of Justice will more than likely take Mexico’s side on the issue, considering the fact that Ecuador agreed to have the embassy put in place and to respect the sovereignty of Mexico.
In international relations class, we have talked about how an international norm is diplomatic protection. Diplomats are not to be harmed, and are to have their jobs be untampered with by foreign influence. In this case the Mexican diplomats jobs were 100% interrupted as well as security cameras filming the harassment of the Mexican diplomats by the Ecuadorian police. This is a serious offense which Mexico is justified in being upset about, as well as the fact that they raided Mexican land. The future of the situation lies primarily in the hands of the International Court of Justice. However even if the ruling is in favor of Mexico, the trust which the nations had for each other has been broken, making relations tense and unlikely to continue.