Former Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge Glas, whose fate is at the heart of the political-diplomatic crisis between Ecuador and Mexico, was transferred from prison to hospital after
"possible discomfort"
, according to the Ecuadorian Prison Administration (SNAI). Monday morning,
“prisoner Glas did not respond to the call. (...) Safety protocols were immediately implemented and it was noted that Glas suffered from possible discomfort after refusing to eat for the past 24 hours
,” the SNAI said in a statement. The prisoner
“was transferred by the emergency services to the Guayaquil naval hospital where he was hospitalized around 12:45 p.m.”
local time (7:45 p.m. French time). He is currently in
“stable condition”
there and will remain
“under observation over the next few hours”
until his return to the cell.
Former vice-president of the country from 2013 to 2018 and close to ex-president Rafael Correa, Glas, convicted of corruption, took refuge in December 2023 in the Mexican embassy in Quito. Police officers entered the embassy premises on Friday evening to arrest him. This intrusion, in violation of international conventions on diplomatic forums, caused the breakdown of diplomatic relations between Mexico and Quito and an international outcry.
Mexico also announced its intention to refer the matter to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), as Mexican diplomatic staff based in Quito left the capital. Mexico intends to assert before the highest court of the United Nations the inviolable nature of diplomatic representations established by the Vienna Convention of 1961. During his daily press conference on Monday, Mexican President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador considered that the raid had constituted a
“truly authoritarian”
act
on the part of Ecuador, the result in particular, according to him, of the inexperience of its young president Daniel Noboa, 36 years old.
“Risk of escape”
According to Quito, the political asylum granted by Mexico to the 54-year-old former vice-president was
“illicit”
. Monday morning, Ecuador indicated that it was willing to
“restore its relations”
with Mexico, provided that its
“sovereignty”
was
“respected”
. The situation
“can be resolved around a table, where both parties must tell the truth and, on the basis of this truth, start to resolve and rebuild things
,” assured Foreign Minister Gabriela Sommerfeld.
“We are open to restoring relations, while respecting the sovereignty of our country.”
President Noboa then justified himself in a statement on social networks.
“In a complex and unprecedented situation in the country, I took exceptional decisions to protect national security, the rule of law and the dignity of a people who reject any form of impunity for criminals
,” s Noboa is defended.
“We could not allow the release of convicted criminals involved in very serious crimes (...) or the imminent risk of their escape
,” he justified, affirming that
“Ecuador is a country of peace and of justice which respects all nations and international law
.
“To the brotherly people of Mexico I want to say that I will always be willing to resolve disputes, but that justice is not negotiable
,” added the young head of state, elected at the end of 2023.
Latin American leaders will discuss condemnation and possible sanctions against Ecuador at a virtual summit on Friday, Honduran President Xiomara Castro, head of the Community of American States, announced on Monday. Latin and Caribbean (CELAC). Jorge Glas' lawyer, Me Sonia Vera Garcia, had on Sunday
“expressed”
her
“deep concern”
and
“concern”
after the transfer of her client on Saturday to a high security prison in Guayaquil (southwest of Ecuador). ), considering that he
“is exposed”
to
“a significant risk to his life and well-being”
.
Claiming to be center-left, but supported in Parliament by the right, President Noboa, faced with an unprecedented wave of violence linked to organized crime and drug trafficking, presented the raid on the Mexican diplomatic compound as part of his
" fight against impunity
. Jorge Glas was sentenced in 2017 to eight years in prison for participating in the corruption system of the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht and released in 2022 thanks to a legal appeal. He is the subject of an arrest warrant for another case of alleged corruption.