The Government of Ecuador declared this Wednesday a person not grateful to the Cuban ambassador, Basilio Antonio Gutiérrez García, and to all the members of its diplomatic, consular and administrative mission and withdrew its representative in Havana. The measure, which also implies the departure of the Cuban delegation from the country within a period of 48 hours, is based on article 9 of the Diplomatic Relations Act, which grants the receiving State the power to declare any member of the diplomatic staff ungrateful, without the need to justify the decision.
The resolution, taken by the president, occurs in a context of growing international tension and coincides with the recent difficulties in the island’s relations with the United States, as a result of the economic blockade and the attack that occurred on February 26. In that incident, which was heading to the island from Florida, leaving four dead and six injured among the crew. The decision also occurs in a greater context with Washington.
During the hours after the decision of the Noboa Executive, images of the roof of the island’s diplomatic legation in the Andean country began to circulate. In the photos you can see how embassy staff burn documents inside a grill.
The Ecuadorian president also signed a decree that put an end to the functions of the Ecuadorian ambassador in Cuba, José María Borja, who also carried out his work as representative to the Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica, Jamaica and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, based in Havana.
This decision is not Noboa’s first in this regard. In the past, the Ecuadorian president has taken actions aligned with Washington’s positions, especially when it comes to governments in which the United States shows distrust. A clear example of this was the diplomatic crisis with Venezuela. After Donald Trump pointed out Nicolás Maduro as the leader of the so-called , Noboa also decreed that it be classified as a terrorist group and asked Intelligence to investigate its possible interference in the country.
Another similar decision occurred at the height of the crisis between Trump and the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro. Then, Noboa took another radical measure: imposing a “security” tariff rate of 30% on Colombian products.
