Ecuadorian authorities arrested the country’s former Vice President, Jorge Glas, last night, Friday, inside the Mexican embassy in Quito, where he had been since December, prompting Mexico to suspend diplomatic relations with Ecuador.

Glas, who has twice been convicted of corruption, had taken refuge in the Mexican embassy in Quito after requesting asylum in December, arguing that he was being prosecuted by the attorney general’s office.

Police Special Forces stormed the Mexican embassy in Quito before making the arrest, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said in a post on social media X.

Ecuador’s presidential office reported in a statement that Ecuadorian authorities arrested Glas.

Lopez Obrador said that he had instructed Mexico’s Foreign Minister to suspend diplomatic relations with Ecuador, calling the arrest a violation of international law and Mexican sovereignty.

Also read: Mexico | Surge of organized crime violence against elected officials