The response of the Mexican Foreign Ministry to Ecuador’s request to hand over former Correista vice president Jorge Glas

The Ecuadorian government has requested the Mexican Embassy to invite former vice president Jorge Glas to leave the diplomatic legation so that he can be detained by the Police as part of a tax investigation. In response, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) of Mexico has stated that they would consider granting political asylum to Glas Espinel if he requests it from the Mexican government. The Mexican embassy in Quito allowed Glas to enter as a guest, citing the Mexican legal framework regarding international protection of persons.

The Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry has requested the urgent collaboration of the Mexican authorities to have Glas leave the diplomatic representation and submit to investigative proceedings within ongoing judicial processes. They also believe that granting diplomatic asylum to Glas would not be lawful, according to the 1954 Convention on Diplomatic Asylum, unless the facts that motivate the asylum request are clearly political in nature.

Meanwhile, the Attorney General of Ecuador, Diana Salazar, has ordered the Police to locate and detain Glas for investigation purposes. Glas, who was previously in prison between 2017 and 2022 for cases of alleged corruption, denies the accusations against him. A judge has also left the possibility of opening a new trial against Glas for embezzlement of public funds in the hands of the National Assembly.

Glas has claimed his innocence in cases of alleged illicit association and bribery, after the Brazilian Justice annulled evidence of the corruption network of the construction company Oderbrecht, which also implicated the former Ecuadorian vice president.