The international country leaders have convicted Ecuador after their nation’s cops broke into the Mexican embassy to arrest former Ecuador’s Vice President Jorge Glas.
The attack on Friday occured after the Mexican ambassador and the other Mexican officials arrived in Mexico City, Mexico on Sunday after travelling from the Ecuador’s national capital Quinto.
The raid not only caused dismay and shock to the international leadrs but also caused the Mexican President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador to end their diplomatic relations with Ecuador.
While Alicia Bárcena, the foreign relations secretary stated that the raid will be challenged at the World Court in Hague, Netherlands.
Who is Jorge Glas and The Reason Behind His Residence In The Mexican Embassy?
Jorge Glas is a politician and electrical engineer who graduated in electrical and electronics engineering from Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral, a public university near Guayaquil, Guayas Province, Ecuador.
He was in the Union For Hope party, the party which was founded by the former Ecuador President and economist Rafael Correa who is also close friends with Jorge Glas since they know each other as they were former Boy Scouts.
Jorge Glas was first elected the Vice President of Ecuador in 2013 and was removed from the post in 2017 after he was found receiving bribes for over $13.5 billion in the Oderbretch scandal.
The Oderbrech Scandal is a famous scandal in Brazil which started with the investigation of a small car wash in nation’s captial Brasilia for money laundering which opened and revealed a wide corruption scheme working in the Brazilian federal government especially in the state owned firms.
There were at least 159 persons invicted in this case in which 18 companies and 11 countries were involved in the incident.
The conglomerate company Oderbretch paid $349 billion bribes to several political parties in the country, foreign authorities and their representatives in Brazil and also financing political elections to obtain the contacts of construction works of local governments in different districts of the country.
He was convicted and sentenced to six years in prison by the criminal court of the National Court of Justice. Due to this, he was unable to use his office for 90 days until he got stripped out of the chair in 2018 and Maria Alejandro Vicuna was democratically elected as Ecuador’s Vice President after the National Assembly of Ecuador accepted her vote.
In 2019, the National Supreme Court of Justice confirmed his imprisonment and he was imprisoned in a prison in Latacunga which is located around South of Quinta in Ecuador.
In 2020 and 21 he lost both his political rights and his prison sentenced was increased after he was found for bribery and exploitation of public funds in oil contract.
In 2022, he was granted release but was stated that he could not leave his country during the remaining of his sentences. In a statment, the attorney general stated that ‘Glas will face charges related to public monies gathered for Manabí Province’s restoration following a 2016 earthquake.‘
But in the end of 2023, Jorge Glas betrayed the authorities of Ecuador by entering a Mexican embassy in which he requested for political asylum by stating that he was under political attack.
International Leaders on The Raid
The police of Ecuador broke throught the front gates of the Mexican Embassy in Quito to arrest the former Vice President of Ecuador Jorge Glas who has been residing there since December.
However, many countries’ international leaders did not like approve the raid. The International Organization of the American States which also includes Ecuador and Mexico state ‘invoke norms of domestic law to justify non-compliance with their international obligations.’
While on Sunday, the Spanish Foreign Ministry stated ‘The entry by force into the Embassy of Mexico in Quito constitutes a violation of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. We call for respect for international law and harmony between Mexico and Ecuador, brotherly countries to Spain and members of the Ibero-American community.’
The United States condemns any violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. We encourage our partners Mexico and Ecuador to resolve their differences in accord with international norms.
— Matthew Miller (@StateDeptSpox) April 7, 2024
Matthew Miller, the representative for the US State Departement stated by addressing both the countries ‘the United States condemns any violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, and takes very seriously the obligation of host countries under international law to respect the inviolability of diplomatic missions.’
Ecuador On Jorge Glas’s Arrest
On Saturday, the former Vice President is taken to the attorney general’s office in the Ecuador’s capital Quinto to the port city of Guayaquil where he will kept at a custody in a maximum security prison.
Sonia Vera, the attorney for Jorge Glas stated ‘knocked him to the floor, kicked him in the head, in the spine, in the legs, the hands,” and when he “couldn’t walk, they dragged him out.’
While Gabriela Sommerfeld, the Foreign Minister of Ecuador stated that ‘decision to enter the embassy was made by President Daniel Noboa after considering Glas’ “imminent flight risk” and exhausting all possibilities for diplomatic dialogue with Mexico.’
She further stated that ‘it is not legal to grant asylum to people convicted of common crimes and by competent courts.’
María Dolores Mino, director of Independent Law and Justice Observatory and a law professor stated that ‘said the raid was not only ‘extremely embarrassing but also opens up the possibility of serious repercussions.’
President Daniel Noboa has not commented on the situation yet.
