Ecuador ex-VP Glas to be discharged from hospital, says prisons agency

Members of Ecuador’s Navy are seen at the main entrance of the Naval Hospital, where detained former vice president Jorge Glas was taken, after he fell ill at a prison following his arrest during a raid by police on Mexico’s Quito embassy, in Guayaquil, Ecuador, April 8, 2024. REUTERS/ Vicente Gaibor del Pino

QUITO — Former Ecuadorean vice president Jorge Glas will be discharged from hospital to return to prison on Tuesday, the SNAI prisons agency said in a statement, adding his health is within normal parameters.

Glas, already twice convicted of corruption and now facing fresh charges, was arrested on Friday after a raid by police on Mexico’s Quito embassy, where he had been living since December.

He was taken to the naval hospital in Guayaquil on Monday, after the prison service said he refused to eat the food he had been provided in jail.

One of Glas’ lawyers on Monday expressed “deep worry and alarm” that Glas has not been able to speak to his legal team.

The unusual raid that led to Glas’ arrest took a simmering spat between the two countries to a boiling point, causing Mexico to suspend diplomatic relations with Ecuador and drawing criticism from countries around the region and elsewhere. — Reuters