Ecuador: Former VP Jorge Glas to Ask for Asylum in Mexico

On Wednesday, former Vice President of Ecuador Jorge Glas (2013-2018), currently a guest at the Mexican Embassy in Quito, will request diplomatic asylum.

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His lawyer, Eduardo Franco Loor, indicated that Glass will make the request after having endured an "illegal, arbitrary, and unconstitutional onslaught" by the Prosecutor's Office.

Glas, who served as vice president during the administrations of Rafael Correa and Lenin Moreno, entered the Mexican embassy over the weekend when the Prosecutor's Office had summoned him for questioning in a case known as "Reconstruction."

Franco Loor stated that the Prosecutor's Office has a stance of "political vengeance" because the Citizen Revolution, the party of which Glas is a member, presented a request for the impeachment of Attorney General Diana Salazar in the National Assembly.

"Glas is safeguarding his physical integrity, health, and life, as the country's prisons are obviously not controlled by the State but by drug traffickers. He decided to request diplomatic asylum under the 1954 Caracas Diplomatic Asylum Convention," his lawyer said.

"Mexico is very committed to international treaties and principles… In the coming days, we hope this country grants asylum in accordance with Article 3, because all actions against Jorge Glas and other Citizen Revolution leaders are absolutely tainted by political motivations," Franco Loor pointed out.

He also expects the issuance of a safe conduct for Glas to travel to Mexico, as the Asylum Convention stipulates that the delivery of this document is "mandatory."

Franco Loor recalled that Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa stated that his administration would not engage in the political persecution of anyone.

"Noboa said it during the campaign. Now, he is the president, and we hope he fulfills his word because Ecuador has always been respectful of international treaties," the lawyer stated.

Glas was in prison for a conviction in a case of illicit association related to the bribery scandal involving the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht. He would seek to overturn that conviction after the Brazilian Supreme Court annulled the evidence used against him.

Regarding the "Reconstruction" case, Franco Loor insisted that Glas is suffering persecution because the Prosecutor's Office intends to link him with the alleged misappropriation of public funds for the benefit of those who executed public works contracts during the period of emergency declared by the Ecuadorian government after the earthquake of April 16, 2016.