QUITO, Ecuador — Ecuador declared Cuba’s ambassador, Basilio Antonio Gutiérrez, and his diplomatic staff “persona non grata” on Wednesday and gave them 48 hours to leave the South American country.
Ecuador’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that the measure was adopted within the framework of international diplomatic law, but didn’t say why they were forcing the diplomats to leave. The Vienna Convention allows countries to declare diplomatic personnel a persona non grata without explanation.
The Associated Press contacted Cuba’s embassy in Quito but did not immediately receive a response.
The decision follows an executive order signed Tuesday by Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa in which he canceled Ecuadorian ambassador to Cuba José María Borja’s diplomatic duties, also without explanation.
The same day, the United States and Ecuador announced they have begun joint military operations against organized crime groups in the Andean nation.
The measure comes amid mounting pressure by President Donald Trump on Cuba, which intensified after a U.S. military operation deposed of former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.
Since, Trump has places restrictions of oil sales to Cuba and said the government was “ready to fall.” Ecuador is one of the Trump administration’s allies and collaborators in the fight against drug trafficking and organized crime in the region.
