Mexico takes Ecuador to ICJ over embassy raid

THE HAGUE

Mexico filed a lawsuit against Ecuador on April 11 at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over the storming of its embassy in Quito, saying it wanted the South American country "suspended" from the United Nations.

Mexico's complaint asks that Ecuador be suspended from the U.N. unless it issues a public apology "recognizing the violations of the fundamental principles and norms of international law," Foreign Minister Alicia Barcena said.

The goal was to "guarantee the reparation of the moral damage inflicted on the Mexican state and its nationals," she told a press conference.

Ecuadoran security forces stormed the embassy on April 5 to arrest former Ecuadoran vice president Jorge Glas, who is wanted on corruption charges and had been granted asylum by Mexico.

The rare incursion on diplomatic territory sparked an international outcry, and led Mexico to break ties with Ecuador, pulling its diplomats out of the country.

At the same press conference, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said the goal of the suit was "that this doesn't repeat itself in any other country in the world, that international law is guaranteed."

Ecuadoran President Daniel Noboa has defended the embassy raid as necessary to detain Glas because he posed a flight risk, saying he was willing to "resolve any difference" with Mexico.