María Dolores Miño, director of Ecuador’s independent Law and Justice Observatory and a law professor at the International University of Ecuador, said the raid was not only “extremely embarrassing” for Ecuador but also opens up the possibility of serious repercussions.

“The scope of a political sanction and its impact should not be underestimated,” Miño said. She added that although the process that Mexico will initiate before the World Court will take time “there will come a time when we have that sentence, which will include economic reparations that will have to be paid with Ecuadorians’ money.”