Ecuador's Foreign Affairs Ministry said an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer tried to enter Ecuador's consulate in Minneapolis on Tuesday and was turned back by staff, prompting the government to file a diplomatic protest amid growing scrutiny of immigration enforcement in Minnesota.
In a statement, the ministry said consular staff prevented the officer from entering the premises and activated emergency protocols.
A note of protest was "immediately" submitted to the U.S. Embassy in Ecuador, asking that similar acts not be repeated at Ecuadorian offices.
Under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, consular premises are "inviolable," barring authorities from entering areas used exclusively for consular work without consent, except in emergencies such as fires or other disasters.
The episode comes amid heightened tensions in Minnesota this month after Minneapolis residents Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good were shot and killed by federal agents.
The Associated Press reported that two federal officers fired shots during the encounter that killed Pretti and described his death as the second fatal shooting this month of a person at the hands of federal law enforcement.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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