The Ecuadorian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer attempted to enter its consulate facilities in Minneapolis on Tuesday in an “attempted incursion.”
Ecuador’s foreign ministry said the incident occurred at around 11 a.m. on Tuesday and issued a “note of protest” to the United States afterward.
“Immediately, Consulate officials prevented the ICE official from entering the consular premises, thereby ensuring the protection of the Ecuadorian citizens who were present at the consular office at that moment and activating the emergency protocols issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility,” the ministry said in a statement.
“In light of the above, the Chancellor of the Republic immediately presented a note of protest to the Embassy of the United States in Ecuador so that acts of this nature do not recur in any of the consular offices of Ecuador in the United States,” the ministry’s statement read.
MAN SPRAYS ILHAN OMAR WITH UNKNOWN SUBSTANCE AT MINNEAPOLIS TOWN HALL EVENT
The encounter follows weeks of rising tensions over the ICE surge in Minnesota as federal law enforcement officers clash with protesters in the Twin Cities. Federal officers fatally shot two U.S. citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, in Minneapolis in January.
The Department of Homeland Security and ICE did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s requests for comment.
