Ecuador sues Mexico at ICJ over granting asylum to former VP

By Alexandra Valencia

QUITO (Reuters) -Ecuador's foreign ministry said on Monday it has sued Mexico at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, asking it to find that Mexico's decision to grant asylum to former Ecuadorean vice-president Jorge Glas violated international law.

Glas, twice convicted of corruption and now facing fresh charges, was arrested this month during an armed raid by Ecuadorean police on Mexico's embassy in Quito, where he had been living since December. The raid drew international criticism.

Mexico already has sued Ecuador at the ICJ, also known as the World Court, over the incident.

Ecuador's representatives at the court presented the lawsuit, the foreign ministry said in a statement, "for a series of violations by Mexico of a series of international obligations, for the conduct of the country since December 17, 2023." That was the date when Glas took up residence at Mexico's embassy.

Ecuador's suit asked the court to find that Mexico broke international law by interfering in local Ecuadorean affairs and wrongly granting Glas political asylum. Ecuador has said Mexico cannot give Glas asylum because he is facing pending criminal charges.

Mexico, in its own suit filed this month, accused Ecuador of violating international law and a United Nations treaty on diplomatic relations by carrying out the raid on its embassy. Ecuador is expected to defend its actions at a hearing on the Mexican suit in The Hague on Wednesday.

Ecuador's suit also mentions "insulting" statements by Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the ministry added. Ecuador complained before the embassy raid about comments from Lopez Obrador about election violence.

An Ecuadorean tribunal has ruled that though the arrest of Glas was illegal, he must remain in jail due to his previous convictions. His legal team has said it will appeal.

Glas is facing charges of misusing funds collected to aid reconstruction of coastal Manabi province after a devastating 2016 earthquake.

(Reporting by Alexandra Valencia; Writing by Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by Will Dunham)