Speaking at the Extraordinary Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), called by the pro tempore presidency of Honduras, the Cuban leader described that action as an unacceptable breach of international law.
Full text of the Cuban head of State’s speech at the CELAC Summit:
Dear President Xiomara Castro:
Dear Heads of States and Governments and other representatives of the nations of our region:
On behalf of your people and Government, Cuba thanks and supports this extraordinary CELAC Summit due to the seriousness of the issue that summons us.
As legitimate and only mechanism for dialogue and agreement, which gathers the 33 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, we have the responsibility to examine and pronounce ourselves on the serious incident on April 5 at the Mexican Embassy in Ecuador.
A few weeks ago, commemorating the 10th anniversary of the Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace, I recalled the common duty to ratify the commitment that no country in Latin America and the Caribbean should ever use violence against a sister nation.
Against that duty and our commitments, on April 5, the Ecuadorian police violently stormed into the Embassy of Mexico in Quito, a hostile and unacceptable act, which deserves the most categorical rejection.
I reiterate Cuba’s strong condemnation of this flagrant violation of International Law, including the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the right to asylum.
Images we have observed leave no doubt in this regard: Mexico’s sovereignty was violated. The physical integrity and dignity of diplomatic personnel was violated.
The use of dialogue and the peaceful settlement of disputes, the foundations of relations between our nations, were ignored.
The commitment we all endorsed in the Peace Proclamation to banish forever the use of force was dismissed. What happened not only has a very negative impact on bilateral relations between Mexico and Ecuador. It affects all countries in this region and the international community as a whole.
The violation of International Law and the undermining of the legitimate rights of a State is an offense to all.
We urge the reinstatement of former Vice President Jorge Glas to his condition prior to the assault on the Mexican Embassy, and to redirect his case in accordance with international law.
Our actions now will depend to a large extent on whether repudiatory acts such as this do not happen again in Latin America and the Caribbean.
To accept or keep quiet ahead of the unacceptable behavior of the Ecuadorian Government would set a too serious and dangerous precedent.
CELAC and member states, we have the obligation to defend, firmly and without hesitation, International Law, making it absolutely clear that the violation of its principles is not justified under any circumstances.
Respecting International Law is an indispensable condition to guarantee peaceful coexistence. It is also a necessary premise for sustaining unity in our diversity. It is a prerequisite for advancing toward the integration that cannot be postponed.
Excellences, friends, sisters and brothers of Latin America and the Caribbean:
As I expressed a few hours after the assault on the Mexican Embassy in Ecuador, I extend all our solidarity to the sisterly Mexican people, to dear President Andres Lopez Obrador, to Secretary Alicia Barcena and to the Mexican Government.
From Cuba, where you are admired and loved, for your exemplary and historical respect for the rights of others, your solidarity and your commitment to integration, I reaffirm that: Mexico can count on our steadfast support in the actions you undertake in the face of this unacceptable breach of international law.
Thank you very much
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