Mexico and Switzerland Join Forces to Protect Interests in Ecuador Amid Diplomatic Tensions

Mexico's government has signed an agreement with Switzerland to protect its interests in Ecuador, following the severance of diplomatic ties between Mexico and Ecuador after an April raid on Mexico's embassy in Quito. Switzerland will represent Mexico diplomatically, but Mexico demands an apology from Ecuador before restoring relations.

Mexico's government said on Tuesday it has signed an agreement with Switzerland to protect its interests in Ecuador, over two months after the two Latin American nations severed relations after Ecuadorean police raided Mexico's embassy in Quito.

Since the highly-unusual April raid, in which Ecuadorean police and soldiers broke into the compound to arrest the country's former Vice President Jorge Glas, who had taken refuge in the embassy since last December, the two nations abruptly cut diplomatic ties. The dramatic nighttime raid saw heavily-armed security personnel scale the embassy's walls to arrest Glas, who was wanted on graft charges even though Mexico had granted him asylum status a day earlier.

Under the deal announced on Tuesday, Switzerland "will protect, represent and exercise" the Mexican government's diplomatic and consular activities in Ecuador, according to a statement from Mexico's foreign ministry. The statement stressed that the agreement does not include any request to mediate the differences between the two nations stemming from the raid.

The ministry added that Mexico will not consider reinstating diplomatic ties with Ecuador's government until it offers a "public and unconditional apology at the highest level," in addition to committing to respect the right to asylum protections.

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