Former presidents of Bolivia question police raid on the Mexican Embassy in Ecuador – 2024-04-11 14:49:45

Former presidents of Bolivia criticize the invasion of the Mexican Embassy in Quito to arrest Jorge Glas, a fugitive from justice

Last Saturday, former presidents of Bolivia, including Carlos Mesa, Jorge Quiroga, Eduardo Rodríguez Veltzé and Evo Morales, spoke out against the invasion of the Ecuadorian Police into the Mexican Embassy in Quito to arrest former vice president Jorge Glas. This event has generated a series of reactions in the regional political sphere due to the context of Glas as a fugitive from Ecuadorian justice.

Jorge Glas, who was vice president of Ecuador during the mandate of former president Rafael Correa, faces several court cases in his country. Among them, his involvement in the Odebrecht case and the Bribery case stand out, for which he was sentenced to prison for illicit association and bribery respectively. Although Glas was released from prison in December 2022 under a provisional precautionary measure, in December 2023 he was denied pre-release and should return to prison. Furthermore, in January 2024, he was prosecuted for embezzlement within the Manabí Reconstruction case, but could not be arrested due to his refuge in the Mexican embassy in Quito.

This situation has generated controversy, since some consider that the action of the Ecuadorian Police constitutes a violation of diplomatic sovereignty, while others argue that Glas is a fugitive from justice who has received political asylum in the Mexican embassy.

Carlos Mesa, who was president of Bolivia between 2003 and 2005, expressed concern about the violation of the sovereignty of the Mexican embassy in Quito, emphasizing the importance of resolving the conflict within diplomatic frameworks. For his part, Evo Morales, former Bolivian president and political ally of Rafael Correa, requested the suspension of diplomatic relations between Bolivia and Ecuador in response to this incident.

The case of Jorge Glas, a convicted politician and fugitive from Ecuadorian justice, has generated tensions and debates about the limits of diplomatic asylum and police intervention in foreign diplomatic headquarters.