Former Ecuadorian vice president detained in embassy raid gets 13 years in prison

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) – The former vice president of Ecuador who was detained last year during a highly criticized police raid on Mexico’s embassy in the South American country was sentenced Monday to 13 years in prison.

Jorge Glas had been accused of misusing public funds intended for the reconstruction of two provinces affected by an earthquake in 2016. The quake devastated communities and killed hundreds of people.

Glas became vice president in 2013, during the presidency of Rafael Correa, and was removed from that position in January 2018, when he was charged in a corruption case tied to the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht.

Judge Mercedes Caicedo said the funds for reconstruction efforts following the earthquake were allocated to “useless, unusable and unnecessary buildings” disregarding the law, and above all, “with complete disrespect for the victims.”

The court also barred Glas from ever holding public office and fined him $28,800.

Glas is already in a maximum-security prison serving time in two other corruption cases. He was detained in April 2024 when police stormed Mexico’s embassy in Ecuador’s capital, Quito, hours after he had been granted asylum.

The embassy raid sparked outrage among world leaders, who criticized Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa.

Diplomatic premises are considered foreign soil and “inviolable” under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, and host country law enforcement agencies are not allowed to enter without the permission of the ambassador.

Ecuador’s government defended the arrest, arguing that Glas was a fugitive wanted in corruption cases, not for political reasons, and therefore was not eligible for Mexico’s diplomatic protection.