A rapid and comprehensive team effort brought immediate and full reporting to a surprise late-night storming of the Mexican embassy in the Ecuadorian capital.
When the Ecuadorian government, under the orders of President Daniel Noboa, took the unprecedented action of storming the Mexican Embassy in Quito late on Friday, April 5, AP’s visual team based in the Andean city responded swiftly. They were on the ground during crucial moments of the significant event, which garnered global attention over the weekend and subsequent days.
Freelance video journalist Cesar Olmos and photojournalist Dolores Ochoa captured images and sound of the incensed embassy staff and rapidly filed images of military forces scaling the walls of the building as they entered and seized Jorge Glas, Ecuador’s former vice president, who had previously faced multiple corruption charges and sought refuge in the Mexican embassy several months prior to the raid.
In addition to securing the initial visuals, the AP team was quick to deliver across other formats to publish the details of this unprecedented event. Within the first 12 hours, the team provided extensive analysis discussing the regional and international implications of the raid. The Mexican government announced it was cutting diplomatic ties with the Andean country. The raid violated sovereign territory and international conventions and the extraordinary event quickly drew international consternation. Our team provided insights on the former vice president, offered a TikTok timeline and delved into the motivations behind President Daniel Noboa’s decision to take such drastic action. We also had live coverage of media briefings by officials in Quito and also at the return of the Mexican embassy’s diplomatic staff to their home country.
Our visuals were widely circulated, and our in-depth, contextual coverage remained at the forefront throughout every moment of this captivating story. The mainbar in English had 250,000 hits on APNews.
For comprehensive and quick work to report on the initial events and immediate fallout after an unprecedented international incident, Olmos, Ochoa, Regina Garcia Cano, Megan Janetsky, Gonzalo Solano, Gabriela Molina, David Biller and Sara Espana are Best of AP — First Winner.
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