Former vice president pleads for help
MEXICO CITY: A former Ecuadoran vice president captured during a widely condemned raid on the Mexican embassy in Quito has appealed to the presidents of Mexico, Colombia and Brazil for help.
Quito sent its security forces into the diplomatic mission to arrest Jorge Glas on April 5, hours after Mexico granted him asylum.
“I am in the worst prison in Ecuador and on a hunger strike. Help me,” Mr Glas wrote in a message to Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador dated April 15 and seen by AFP on Thursday.
“Here there is a brutal persecution against all progressives. Only international help can do something,” he said in letters addressed to Mr Lopez Obrador, Colombia’s Gustavo Petro and Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Mr Glas, who served as vice president from 2013 to 2017, faces corruption charges stemming from his time in office.
Mexico broke off diplomatic relations with Ecuador after the raid, which prompted stinging international criticism.
Mexico filed a complaint with the International Court of Justice in The Hague seeking Ecuador’s suspension from the United Nations unless Quito apologises for violating international law.
Ecuador has refused to recognise Mr Glas’ asylum status, saying it was not legal to grant it in cases of common crimes.
Following his arrest, Mr Glas was hospitalised due to what officials said was the 54-year-old’s refusal to eat in the Guayaquil maximum security prison, where he was later returned.