Ecuador declares Mexico ambassador persona non grata, orders him to leave

The day before, Mexico's leftist President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador commented on last year's assassination of Ecuadorean presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, comparing his killing to recent violence seen in Mexico's current election season in which several local candidates have already been gunned down. Mexico's election is slated for June.

Ecuador's government declared Mexico's ambassador to the country unwelcome on Thursday due to what it cited as "unfortunate" comments from the Mexican president about the South American country's elections last year.

Ambassador Raquel Serur Smeke should leave the country "soon," Ecuador's foreign ministry told Reuters, after describing him as "persona non grata" in a statement. The day before, Mexico's leftist President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador commented on last year's assassination of Ecuadorean presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, comparing his killing to recent violence seen in Mexico's current election season in which several local candidates have already been gunned down.

Mexico's election is slated for June. In his remarks at a regular government press conference, Lopez Obrador asserted that Ecuador's leftist presidential hopeful, Luisa Gonzalez was unfairly tied to the killing of Villavicencio, and went on to blame media he said were corrupt.

Lopez Obrador used the comparison to attack Mexican media outlets, a frequent target of his. "I'm talking about this so that owners of media outlets and those who are participating in these campaigns take responsibility," he added.

In its statement, Ecuador's foreign ministry noted that the nation remains in mourning over Villavicencio's assassination, and that its government is committed to the principle of non-intervention in the internal matters of other countries. Gonzalez, a protégé of ex-President Rafael Correa, lost the presidential contest to Daniel Noboa last October, with the latter taking office in November on a promise to combat drug gangs and tame spiking violence.

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