QUITO — June 4, 2026
Ecuador’s government declared Cuba’s ambassador and his entire diplomatic staff persona non grata on Wednesday, ordering them expelled from Quito within 72 hours in what marks the most acute diplomatic breach between the two nations in over a decade.
Foreign Minister María Elena Aguirre confirmed the expulsion in a nationally televised statement, accusing Havana of refusing to surrender three former Ecuadorian customs officials who fled to Cuba in March after a domestic investigation uncovered a $200 million duty-skipping scheme affecting 14 provinces.
“We will not permit Ecuadorian territory to be used as a refuge for those who stole from our people,” Aguirre said. “These individuals will face justice — in Ecuador.”
The Cuban Foreign Ministry called the move “a flagrant violation of the Vienna Conventions” and said it would retaliate by revoking the accreditations of Ecuador’s diplomatic missions in Havana. State media in Havana broadcast emergency coverage warning of “imperialist provocation.”
The three fugitives — former customs director General (ret.) Patricio Mena, his deputy Lucía , and accountant Rodrigo Guerrero — are subjects of an INTERPOL red notice issued at Quito’s request last month. Cuban authorities have denied harboring them, though Ecuadorean prosecutors say biometric data places all three in a Havana residential compound used by the Caribbean island’s intelligence services.
The diplomatic spat arrives as Ecuador’s President Renata Flores is navigating a narrow congressional majority and rising public anger over living costs. Political analysts say the government is using the expulsion to project strength ahead of municipal elections scheduled for July.