The representative of Mexico before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Alejandro Celorio, stated this Tuesday that they are “prepared” to “question the belonging” of Ecuador’s counterclaim after the first hearing in court for the assault on the Mexican Embassy in Quito to arrest former vice president Jorge Glas (2013-2017), convicted of corruption.
After the hearing at the ICJ, Celorio assured in a video conference with Mexican media that the delegation “cut off” Ecuador’s possible arguments in its turn at the Court to respond to Mexico’s original demand.
The Mexican representative considered that Ecuador “will try to lead the conversation to the point that Mexico is guilty of granting asylum (to Glas), and therefore, there is a justification for entering the embassy.”
“What we did was cut off their arguments in advance, that is, there is no justification, there is no way that entry to the embassy could be based on a reason that Ecuador wants to put forward,” he explained.
He warned that “Ecuador is going to try to merge both disputes”, the one related to the raid on the diplomatic headquarters and that of the legitimacy of Glas’s asylum.
«We are already prepared, as we were from the beginning, because we knew that they would come there, to question the relevance of the lawsuit. “Why are they presenting it today if they are talking about events that occurred between December 17, 2023 and April 4, 2024?” said the legal consultant for the Foreign Ministry.
Provisional measures are urgently needed
At the same time, he explained that the Mexican delegation presented to the Court the urgency of provisional measures to safeguard the integrity of the Embassy and the diplomatic personnel in that country, as well as the files and belongings inside.
Celorio highlighted the possibility that the information used to analyze Glas’s request for political asylum could “be of interest to some people in the Government of Ecuador,” in addition to the fact that the addresses contain diplomatic files from 50 years of relationship between both countries.
On the other hand, he declared that “there is a loss of trust with Ecuador” and pointed out the need for the ICJ to demand that country “comply with its international obligations.”
He added that they hope that in the coming weeks the Court will decide whether to deliver the provisional measures to Mexico, and by the end of the year they will be able to review the merits of the matter.
However, Ecuador’s countersuit could change times.
In that sense, he said that “the complaint filed against the (Mexican) Minister Roberto Canseco is part of a strategy of the Government of Ecuador.”
“Just as they filed a late complaint against the asylum granted to Jorge Glas, they could have done it much earlier, of course, long before jumping the fence and breaking into our Embassy.”
Mexico broke relations with Ecuador on April 5, when the Ecuadorian Police broke into the Mexican Embassy to arrest Glas, who had been sheltered there since December. EFE
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