Embassy in Mexico stormed
Ecuador’s ex-vice president in hospital after arrest
April 9, 2024, 10:03 a.m
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Ecuadorian police storm the Mexican embassy in Quito and arrest an ex-vice president. Because his health deteriorated shortly afterwards, he was transferred to a hospital. His lawyer fears for his health. The case caused international outrage.
Ecuador’s imprisoned former Vice President Jorge Glas has been taken to hospital due to health problems. The South American country’s prison administration said the 54-year-old was found with symptoms of a possible circulatory collapse when he opened his cell in the morning. He had previously refused to eat.
Local media also reported from a police report that the ex-vice president had fallen into a “self-induced coma.” Glas was then taken to the naval hospital in the port city of Guayaquil. Authorities said his health was stable.
Glas’s Brussels-based lawyer, Sonia Vera, said she feared for her client’s life. “I believe that Jorge Glas is in great danger, imminent danger, in the hands of the Ecuadorian government. It was a kidnapping and I believe that they could kill him at any moment,” Vera announced.
Arrest possible violation of international law
Glas was sentenced to several years in prison for corruption in 2017 and was released early two years ago. Since he apparently feared being arrested again, he fled to the Mexican embassy in Quito in December. Mexican President Lopez Obrador granted him political asylum until Ecuadorian security forces entered the embassy on Friday and arrested Glas.
Mexico then broke off diplomatic relations with Ecuador and announced that it would go to the International Court of Justice due to the alleged violation of international law. The government’s actions in Quito were also sharply criticized from other countries in the region and Europe. According to the rules of international law, the security authorities of the recipient states actually have no authority in the diplomatic missions of other countries.
The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations states: “The premises of the mission are inviolable. Representatives of the receiving state may enter them only with the consent of the head of mission.”