Ecuador’s supermarket-brawling ambassador resigns

Peru and Ecuador agreed Tuesday to recall their respective ambassadors and name new individuals to the posts amid a diplomatic row that erupted after the Ecuadorean ambassador to Peru managed to get into a fight with two women in a supermarket checkout line.  As my colleague Ty McCormick noted, it initially seemed that Rodrigo Riofrío ...

Thos Robinson/Getty Images for LVMH
Thos Robinson/Getty Images for LVMH
Thos Robinson/Getty Images for LVMH

Peru and Ecuador agreed Tuesday to recall their respective ambassadors and name new individuals to the posts amid a diplomatic row that erupted after the Ecuadorean ambassador to Peru managed to get into a fight with two women in a supermarket checkout line. 

Peru and Ecuador agreed Tuesday to recall their respective ambassadors and name new individuals to the posts amid a diplomatic row that erupted after the Ecuadorean ambassador to Peru managed to get into a fight with two women in a supermarket checkout line. 

As my colleague Ty McCormick noted, it initially seemed that Rodrigo Riofrío would survive the debacle — that, inexplicably, an ambassador could retain his post after swatting citizens of his host country with a rolled-up magazine. But it wasn’t meant to be. Peruvian news stations have been playing clips of the fight non-stop, and the country’s first lady even weighed in, saying that "aggression against women should not be tolerated." Ecuador’s Foreign Ministry announced today that Riofrío, who had enjoyed a "distinguished diplomatic career," will be assigned to "another country" — presumably one far, far away from Peru and its supermarkets.

Here’s footage of the incident in question:

The real victim in all of this, however, seems to be the Peruvian ambassador to Ecuador. He’s now out of a job because his counterpart got too feisty while trying to pick up some groceries.

Twitter: @EliasGroll

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