President Nicolás Maduro speaks at CELAC. Photo: Archive.
The President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, announced this Tuesday that Venezuela will close its embassy in Ecuador and its consulates in Quito and Guayaquil until international law is expressly restored in that country.
This was indicated at the Extraordinary Virtual Summit of Heads of State of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), during which he stated that Venezuela supports Mexico’s proposal to expel Ecuador from the United Nations until it apologizes for the assault by police on the Mexican embassy and the abduction and arrest of former Ecuadorian vice president Jorge Glas and restores the situation to its original legal status.
Glas must return to the Mexican embassy
Likewise, President Maduro stated that Venezuela’s position is that former Vice President Jorge Glas should be returned to the Mexican embassy. “Recognize his political asylum,” said President Maduro. “Give him approval to travel to Mexico to recover his physical health from torture.”
A virtual CELAC summit will be held this April 16 in response to the assault carried out on April 5 by police officers of the government of Daniel Noboa, president of Ecuador, on the Mexican embassy in Quito, after the Central American country granted political asylum to former vice president Jorge Glas. The troops beat the head of the embassy, Roberto Canseco, and dragged away former Vice President Glas. The act was a flagrant violation of international laws regarding political asylum.
“We support the dignity of Mexico,” said President Maduro. Foreign powers have supported events of this type that seek to create international chaos, he added.
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Support for claim at the ICJ
“Mexico is not alone, it has the voice of our America accompanying it,” said President Maduro, highlighting that Venezuela fully supports Mexico’s claim before the International Court of Justice.
The action of the president of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, “decided by him, to assault the territory of Mexico, its embassy, to hit, to beat up its diplomatic staff in front of the world, live and directly through social networks, of capturing, tying up, torturing former vice president Jorge Glas, has been an act of barbarism, today condemned by the entire world,” added President Maduro.
Noboa has not shown his face
In this sense, addressing the Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Gabriela Sommerfeld, Maduro asked, “have you thought that his name is going to be recorded and stained for the rest of his life by this act of barbarism? President Daniel Noboa should have shown his face today in front of all of Latin America and the Caribbean, he should have presented himself and assumed his responsibility in front of Ecuador, the region and the world, and he has not shown his face.”
“President Daniel Noboa has gone into hiding, and the people of Ecuador should know it,” said President Maduro. “Why hasn’t President Daniel Noboa shown his face? Isn’t he responsible for his actions?”
Provocation against international law
The president considered that the statements that Noboa has provided, in addition to constituting an act of provocation against Mexico, are an act of provocation against international law and are in absolute contempt for the entire legal framework.
In this regard, he indicated that Ecuador’s actions violate the Asylum Convention signed on March 28, 1954, in Caracas, which applies to all countries in the region.
A direct threat
For the Venezuelan head of state, “Noboa’s statements, saying that he feels proud of having attacked the Mexican embassy, that he does not recognize that embassies are the country’s territory and must be respected as such, is a direct threat to all the countries that have embassies in Ecuador.”
The CELAC example
The approach, this Tuesday, of the Ecuador-Mexico case by CELAC, is considered by Maduro an example of the institutional strengthening of the organization. For this reason, he congratulated CELAC President Xiomara Castro, Colombia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines “for this response.”
(Últimas Noticias) by Aurig Hernández
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/KW/SL
