QUITO – The government of Ecuador has ordered the expulsion of the Cuban ambassador and the entire diplomatic mission in Quito, escalating tensions between the two countries.
Ecuadorian authorities declared Cuban Ambassador Basilio Antonio Gutiérrez García “persona non grata,” giving him and all embassy staff 48 hours to leave the country. The decision was announced by Ecuador’s Foreign Ministry and is based on Article 9 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which allows host countries to expel diplomats without providing a reason.
Embassy staff burning documents
The order applies to the ambassador and the entire Cuban diplomatic mission in Ecuador. At the same time, Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa dismissed Ecuador’s own ambassador in Havana, effectively downgrading diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Shortly after the expulsion was announced, images and videos circulated on social media showing a person on the roof of the Cuban embassy in Quito burning documents. Ecuadorian authorities said the act appeared to involve the destruction of embassy files following the government’s order for the diplomats to leave.
Cuba strongly condemned the decision, describing it as an “unfriendly and unprecedented act” that harms long-standing relations between the two countries.
Officials in Quito did not provide a specific explanation for the expulsion, although analysts say the move comes amid rising political tensions in the region and Ecuador’s closer alignment with the United States under Noboa’s administration.
The diplomatic crisis adds to a series of foreign policy confrontations involving Ecuador in recent years. In 2024, the country faced international criticism after security forces raided the Mexican embassy in Quito to arrest a former vice president who had sought asylum there.
It remains unclear whether the expulsion will lead to a complete break in diplomatic relations between Ecuador and Cuba.