The Vienna Convention leaves no ambiguity – diplomatic missions are ‘inviolable’, Article 22 of the 1961 Treatise asserts. It adds “The agents of the receiving state – the country where the embassy is situated – may not enter them except with the consent of the head of the mission”. Hence when Ecuador police broke into the Mexican Embassy and forcefully arrested former Ecuadorian vice president Jorge Glas, the Convention norms laid in shambles. Mexico broke diplomatic ties with the South American nation and condemnation of breaking international law came from almost all countries and institutions that matter. Mexico has promised a knock at the door of the World Court in The Hague very soon.
The detainee in question is a former Vice President of Ecuador and is being investigated over alleged irregularities in the reconstruction following the 2016 earthquake that killed hundreds. He was already convicted once in 2017 for bribery and corruption charges.
While the current leadership at Quito may be accused of flagrant violation of diplomatic norms and international law, it’s pertinent to look at the floodgates of impropriety that get opened when the embassies admit the accused fleeing from the laws of the land. Imaginary possibilities are immense. A regime change in so many countries turns some, if not many, officials of the former regime into fugitives. The recent history abounds in examples of former heads of state cooling their heels in prisons or being slapped with a slew of cases by the successor government.
It’s not just Trump – he is better off! In Pakistan, former Prime Minister Imran Khan was imprisoned and his party was not even allowed to contest elections using its name or symbol. Hypothetically, he could have entered an embassy of a country friendly to him if any – indeed that’s a big ‘if’ – and directed the campaign from the comforts of the chancellery! In a story currently in neighboring India, the Chief Minister (CM) of Delhi, who is from the opposition fighting against Prime Minister Modi’s party in the national election, has been arrested and jailed on corruption charges. America and Germany had committed the diplomatic gaffe of commenting on this purely domestic matter of India. If either of these countries were to open their doors to the CM in distress, he could have continued ruling Delhi from the salubrious confines of a diplomatic mission instead of the current distressful existence in the cramped cell of an infamous Delhi jail! There can be many more such possibilities if one looks around, especially in Africa. All because the Vienna Convention makes diplomatic missions impregnable to the legal arms of the host country. Of course, it does not happen that way every day.
But South and Central America is an exception. The ‘list of people who took refuge in embassies’ shows that most instances were from the South American continent during the last decade. Mostly driven by the ideological divide (Conservative v/s Left), it would appear that diplomatic missions must maintain a separate section for board and lodging for the asylum-seekers pouring in! Far-left-ruled Venezuela takes the cake and the embassies in the capital Caracas- Chile’s being the most popular – have been experiencing steady footfall of the alleged persecutees. There are two currently ‘live’ instances of refugees in the missions – one is a former president of Panama who has been enjoying his time in Nicaragua’s embassy for the past couple of months and in the usual suspect venue Caracas, there are half a dozen Venezuelan opposition figures holed up in the Argentinian embassy since 25th March.
The Panama situation has similarities to the Ecuador ex-VP’s tryst with asylum which ended when police stormed the Mexican embassy. Former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli is a conservative who led Panama to prosperity during his rule (2009-14). He received a 10-year sentence for money laundering. He has been a front runner for the next Presidential election to be held on 5th May – ie till he was disqualified from the race by the country’s electoral tribunal in the light of the rule that bars who were sentenced for more than 5 years in prison for an ‘intentional crime’. Fearing arrest, the gentleman shifted his bag and baggage – including pet dog Bruno- to the welcoming Nicaraguan embassy. Now, Nicaragua has at its helm much-despised leftist authoritarian rulers who strip political opponents of their citizenship and property. The right-wing former leader of Panama shouldn’t be their natural ally. But then, the enemy of my adversary is my friend, right? Mr.Martinelli also alleges threats to his life as the current government in Panama is bent upon killing him. Panama’s Foreign Ministry declined Nicaragua’s request to allow Mr. Martinelli to leave the country, citing an international agreement on political asylum that states that countries cannot grant asylum to people who have been “duly prosecuted” for nonpolitical crimes.
It’s unknown if Ecuador and Mexico are signatories to the asylum agreement that Panama has been quoting. Irrespective of that, it is obvious that giving asylum to those convicted as per the home country laws will be a dangerous precedent – not all are Alexy Navalny! While Ecuador was wrong per se in violating Article 20 of the Vienna Convention, Article 41 may offer a reprieve. It says, “Without prejudice to ……… it’s the duty of all persons….to respect the laws and regulations of the receiving State. They also have a duty not to interfere in the internal affairs of that State”. By admitting somebody fleeing from the law of Ecuador and seeking to whisk him away to Mexico, did the latter uphold Article 41 is for the judges in Hague to ponder, should Mexico take the case to their court as threatened?
Lastly, it’s pertinent to see why the escalation happened between Mexico and Ecuador. The Leftist President of Mexico Andrés Manuel López Obrador, known as AMLO, is loath to foreign travel. He skipped many multinational meetings like the G20 or the UN General Assembly. He once summarized his aversion to flying out of Mexico with a “The best foreign policy is domestic policy” quip. He is credited with the unusual act of selling a luxurious presidential plane bought by his predecessor(s) to Tajikistan as he deemed it a waste of money. But the reclusiveness has not prevented him from commenting on the domestic affairs of other countries in Central and South America, especially the ones ruled by right-inclined regimes.
Ecuador’s President – Daniel Noboa – is a young novice at 36 and heir to a fortune built on the banana trade. While Ecuador is not an original recipient of the epithet ‘banana republic’, the gang wars, drug business and violence have been the right attributes of one. The ascendancy of the scion of a banana business in Ecuador made many neighbors go wild! Well, other than the tropical fruit, Ecuador has many skeletons, literally in fact, in its burgeoning cupboard! President Noboa is on a mission to curb this trend by imposing an emergency and tackling the drug lords with a firm hand. He is on a short lease as far as the Presidency goes, filling the leftover period of the previous president who decided to leave office rather than face impeachment. So Noboa has another year in hand going up to May 2025.
When he secured a surprise win in the August 2023 election, he inherited a country where people leave home only if it is essential, everyone knows a crime victim and migration is on everyone’s mind. 2023 created a detestable record of more than 7,600 homicides! People were looking for a Rambo-style savior who would vanquish drug cartels who had turned the tiny nation of 1.8m into a den of robberies, extortion, kidnapping and murders. Naboa filled that slot eminently cultivating the ‘tough on crime guy’ image by action on the ground. The embassy break-in has to add one more feather to his cap. The action prevented another powerful law-breaker from escaping. It’s worth noting that when Glas was VP, Rafael Correa was the President. Mr.Correa could avoid prison for a corruption conviction by slipping away to Belgium and securing asylum. His VP had almost entered the former boss’ decamping shoes but was interrupted and picked up from the Mexican embassy. Despite international condemnation, Noboa is earning plaudits domestically. His popularity is on the rise and If the crackdown on crime continues unabatedly, Noboa stands a good chance to be reelected as President in 2025 for a full term.
Breaching of the Vienna Convention is far less in history. Ecuador has been on the other side of the desk when WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange found asylum in the country’s embassy in London for 7 long years from 2012 to 2019.
The British police waited patiently till then. But the circumstances and times were different. There are instances of terrorists attacking diplomatic mansions, and the State itself actively doing the storming is very rare. While the Tehran embassy of America in 1979 was a de facto state action, the real act was done by so-called Iranian ‘students’. The very recent attack by Israel on Iran’s embassy in Damascus is in a different class altogether. The home country – Syria – agents did not conduct the assault (why would they on an all-important ally!). Hence out of Vienna convention purview. Iran rightly thinks of settling the scores physically instead of pleading with the ICJ (International Court of Justice).
History will judge President Noboa if his unusual step of violating diplomatic premises will make Ecuador more of a ripe or raw Banana Republic. Either way, some other countries shall go bananas over the outcome.
