“Will this mean a complete break in diplomatic relations between the two countries?” Prensa Latina wonders.
14ymedio, Madrid, 4 March 2026 — Ecuador’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility declared the Cuban ambassador in Quito, Basilio Gutiérrez, persona non grata this Wednesday—along with the whole diplomatic staff of the mission—and gave them 48 hours to get out of the country. The news was delivered to the embassy by the Directorate of Ceremonial and Protocol, according to the official agency Prensa Latina.
In a letter sent to the Embassy of the Republic of Cuba, the ministry lists the names of the 21 Cuban employees at the mission, including the consul, Vladimir González Fernández; the minister-counselor, Samuel Bibilonia Ballate; the first secretary, Ivette Franco Senen; and the vice-consul, Armando Bencomo Zamora. They’re given two days to leave “in accordance with diplomatic practice.”
The Foreign Ministry bases this on Article 9 of the Vienna Convention, which governs diplomatic relations. That article says: “The receiving State may at any time and without having to explain its decision, notify the sending State that the head of the mission or any member of the diplomatic staff of the mission is persona non grata or that any other member of the staff of the mission is not acceptable.” Ecuador really didn’t give any explanation, and it’s not clear whether this “will imply a rupture of diplomatic relations between the two countries,” as Prensa Latina asks.
This move comes one day after Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa ended the functions of José María Borja López as Ecuador’s ambassador in Havana.
Shortly after the Ecuadorian government’s announcement, Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement calling the decision “arbitrary and unjustified” and describing it as an “unprecedented and unfriendly act.”
Cuba’s Foreign Ministry said no reasons were provided for the declaration and that the move harms bilateral relations. They also warned that it “significantly damages the historic relations of friendship and cooperation between both countries and peoples.”
Cuban journalist José Raúl Gallego (who lives in Mexico) commented on the news: “Since 1959, Cuban diplomatic missions have been centers of interference and regional destabilization. The Cuban embassy in Ecuador has been one of the most active in those activities.”
This all happens right after President Daniel Noboa terminated José María Borja López’s role as Ecuador’s ambassador to Havana (he was also accredited to Dominica, Jamaica, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines). Borja had been appointed in October 2021 under then-president Guillermo Lasso.
In April 2025, Noboa won a comfortable re-election as president of Ecuador. He first came to power in November 2023 with a liberal economic platform and a tough-on-crime “mano dura” stance—very different from the correísta governments that ruled for over a decade and were openly aligned with Havana.
Last September, Ecuador tightened its migration policy and started requiring a temporary visitor/transit visa for nationals of 25 countries, including Cuba.
Translated by GH
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