President Daniel Noboa jokes about the burning of documents at the diplomatic headquarters.
14ymedio, Havana, March 5, 2026 – Following the recent decision by the Government of Ecuador to declare Cuban ambassador Basilio Antonio Gutiérrez García and all diplomatic staff persona non grata, protests and tensions have erupted that reflect the country’s internal polarization.
Shortly after the expulsion was announced, local media reported the presence of military personnel outside the Cuban diplomatic headquarters. That same afternoon, about 30 Ecuadorians gathered in front of the embassy, carrying banners and chanting slogans against U.S. foreign policies, according to EFE.
The demonstrators claimed that Noboa “responds to orders he receives” and denounced the recent military operation carried out by the United States Armed Forces on Ecuadorian territory, which they described as “terrible” for the country’s sovereignty, since last November the installation of foreign bases in Ecuador had been rejected by a majority vote of citizens. One participant concluded: “We have become a U.S. protectorate.”
Ecuadorian opposition lawmakers rejected President Noboa’s decision on Thursday. The president of the Ecuador–Cuba Interparliamentary Friendship Group, Liliana Durán, warned about the negative impact of this diplomatic rupture. According to Durán, the measure shows “the servility and alignment of the Government with Washington’s policy, sacrificing our sovereignty and the dignity of our foreign policy,” and she pointed out that the most serious aspect is that the measure comes precisely when the United States is intensifying pressure against Cuba.
The measure demonstrates the Government’s servility and alignment with Washington’s policy.
Legislator Nuria Butiña also rejected the decision and recalled that, just hours before the Government’s official announcement, a meeting had been held between the Interparliamentary Group and the Cuban ambassador and his team at the National Assembly. Meanwhile, legislator Mariana Yumbay stated that the measure “joins a geopolitical logic that for more than half a century has sought to isolate and pressure the Cuban people.”
A few hours after the executive branch announced the expulsion, President Daniel Noboa posted on his X profile one of the videos circulated by Ecuador’s right-leaning press, showing alleged Cuban embassy officials burning documents on a grill on the rooftop of the diplomatic headquarters. Noboa jokingly called it a “paper barbecue.”
In an interview with the local outlet Radio Canela, Noboa stated that “all diplomatic documents must remain untouchable by the State,” emphasizing the protection granted to the official documentation of foreign missions. He also continued joking about the burning of the documents: “I didn’t know that part of the Cuban diet consisted of cooking papers and presenting them as a typical dish.”
I didn’t know that part of the Cuban diet consisted of cooking papers and presenting them as a typical dish.
Pro-government assemblywoman Lucía Jaramillo also reacted on social media to the burning: “Who burns papers on the roof of an embassy? Only someone trying to destroy evidence,” said the legislator, adding that the images “confirm what has been denounced for years: indications of political espionage in Ecuador.” In her view, Cuba and Venezuela cover up activities linked to the movement of former president Rafael Correa.
Former president and ally of the Cuban regime Rafael Correa lashed out at Noboa, calling the expulsion “shameful” and adding that when he heard the news he thought it was “a joke.” On X he wrote: “Lackeys trying to earn favor. What a disgrace!” and accused the president of destroying Ecuador.
Meanwhile, in the United States, Republican members of Congress from South Florida celebrated the measure taken by the Ecuadorian government.
María Elvira Salazar posted on X that the action sends “a clear message to the entire region: enough with the Cuban dictatorship.” She also praised Noboa for confronting “a regime that oppresses its own people and exports repression, destabilization, and misery throughout the hemisphere.”
For his part, Mario Díaz-Balart described the decision as “forceful” and said it responds to Ecuador’s national security interests, while strengthening defense and security cooperation with the United States.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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