Ecuador Lodges Complaint Over ICE at Minneapolis Consulate (Full Transcript)
[00:00:03] Speaker 1: Ecuador's government says that a U.S. immigration enforcement agent from ICE tried to enter its consulate building in Minneapolis, but the agent was prevented from entering by consular staff who say they were protecting Ecuadorian citizens inside. Ecuador's government has now filed a formal complaint with the U.S. embassy in Ecuador's capital Quito. Consular buildings like consulates or embassies are considered inviolable. That means that authorities in the country where they are based are not allowed to enter without consent from the head of that consular post. Ecuador's government says that consent was not given in this case in Minneapolis. Video shared by media in Ecuador shows an official saying to the ICE agent, you're not allowed in here, and the ICE agent responding, if you touch me, I will grab you. This has caused a bit of a rare diplomatic fallout between the current governments in Ecuador and the United States. Ecuador's conservative president, Daniel Naboa, and U.S. President Donald Trump are allies. They've been working together recently to try and boost cooperation on issues like the economy and also tackling drug trafficking. But Ecuador now wants assurances that this will not happen again.
- Ecuador says an ICE agent tried to enter its Minneapolis consulate without permission.
- Consular premises are considered inviolable; host-country authorities generally cannot enter without consent.
- Ecuador filed a formal complaint with the U.S. embassy in Quito and is seeking assurances against recurrence.
- Video reportedly captures a heated verbal exchange between consular staff and the agent.
- The incident is a rare diplomatic friction point despite broader Ecuador–U.S. cooperation under allied leaders.