International
Ecuador seeks Mexican Embassy entry in Quito to arrest glas, amidst asylum request
The Ecuadorian government has requested permission from Mexico to enter its embassy in Quito and arrest Jorge Glas, who served as vice president during Rafael Correa’s presidential term (2007-2017) and has been residing in the diplomatic mission since December awaiting a response to his asylum request.
Ecuador’s government has asked Mexico to allow the apprehension of Glas within its embassy in Quito because granting him asylum would “render void all commitments acquired in international instruments such as the United Nations Convention against Corruption,” as confirmed by sources from the Foreign Ministry to EFE.
In the document, Ecuador’s Foreign Ministry asks Mexican Ambassador Raquel Serur for consent “for law enforcement (police), under the authority of the Ministry of the Interior, to enter the premises of the diplomatic mission and carry out the arrest of Mr. Jorge David Glas Espinen, as ordered by the National Court of Justice of Ecuador.”
Before making this request, Ecuador’s Foreign Minister Gabriela Sommerfeld had previously stated that if Mexico granted asylum, President Daniel Noboa’s government would not provide Glas with safe passage to leave the country without detention.
Glas, who was released at the end of 2022 after serving five years in prison for two convictions of bribery and illicit association, faces charges of embezzlement in the “Reconstruction” case in the coastal province of Manabí following the 2016 earthquake.
Arrival at the Mexican Embassy
In mid-December 2023, Glas, who considers himself innocent and a victim of ‘lawfare,’ arrived at the Mexican Embassy in Quito, before a detention order was issued against him.
In early January, a judge ordered his provisional detention for the Manabí reconstruction case.
The investigation by the Prosecutor’s Office revealed alleged misuse of public funds benefiting third parties, individuals, and legal entities who were contractors and supervisors of the contracts signed.
Glas spent five years and four months in prison after being sentenced to eight years for bribery in the “Bribery” case and six years for illicit association related to the Odebrecht bribery scandal.
Glas’s Background
The former vice president, who served during part of Correa’s term and the early months of Lenín Moreno’s presidency (2017-2021), has stated that he will seek to overturn his case after Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court annulled evidence from Odebrecht’s computer system.
Glas’s asylum request echoes the case of former Correa-era minister María de los Ángeles Duarte, also convicted in the “Bribery” case, who resided with her underage son in the residence of the Argentine ambassador for nearly two and a half years while awaiting a resolution to her asylum request from the Argentine government.
At the end of 2022, Argentina’s government under President Alberto Fernández granted her asylum, but Ecuador’s conservative government under President Guillermo Lasso denied her safe passage, leading the former minister to leave Ecuador unnoticed until reaching Venezuela.
This sparked a diplomatic standoff between Argentina and Ecuador, resulting in reciprocal expulsions of ambassadors and a delay of up to four months in appointing new mission heads.
International
Brésil : 11 morts et 45 blessés dans un violent accident entre un bus et un camion
Onze personnes ont perdu la vie et quarante-cinq autres ont été blessées lors d’une collision frontale entre un camion de marchandises et un autobus dans le centre-ouest du Brésil, ont annoncé les autorités ce samedi.
L’accident s’est produit vendredi à 21h40, heure locale, sur la route BR-163, près de la localité de Lucas do Rio Verde, dans l’État du Mato Grosso.
Selon la Police routière fédérale (PRF), un autobus reliant la capitale de l’État, Cuiabá, à Sinop est entré en collision frontale avec un camion transportant des graines de coton.
« L’accident a fait 11 morts », a indiqué la PRF dans un communiqué, précisant qu’une enquête est en cours pour déterminer les causes du drame.
Les blessés ont été transportés vers des hôpitaux de la région : 11 sont dans un état grave, 26 présentent des blessures modérées et 8 sont légèrement touchés, selon la police routière.
Le conducteur du camion a subi des blessures modérées.
La société de transport Rio Novo, propriétaire de l’autobus, a confirmé l’accident.
« Notre priorité est de prendre soin des victimes et de leurs familles », a déclaré l’entreprise dans un message publié sur les réseaux sociaux.
Les accidents mortels sont fréquents sur les routes brésiliennes, un pays aux dimensions continentales.
Dimanche dernier, huit personnes avaient trouvé la mort dans une collision impliquant deux voitures et une moto dans l’État de Minas Gerais (sud-est).
En mai, une collision frontale entre une minifourgonnette et un camion avait fait neuf morts et dix blessés, également dans le Minas Gerais.
International
U.S. doubles bounty on Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro to $50 million
In February, the United States designated eight Latin American criminal organizations as “global terrorist” groups, including Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua, and the MS-13 gang. In July, it added the Cartel of the Suns to the list — a group Washington claims is led by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Last Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration doubled the reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest, raising it from $25 million to $50 million, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on social media platform X.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio explained that labeling the Cartel of the Suns as a terrorist organization allows for a strategic shift in dealing with the Venezuelan regime, as it is now also considered a direct threat to U.S. national security, according to El Espectador.
In an interview with The World Over on EWTN, Rubio said the designation enables the U.S. to “use intelligence agencies, the Department of Defense, or any other element of American power to go after them.” He stressed this is no longer just a law enforcement matter, but a national security operation.
When asked at the White House whether he believes it is worth sending the military to combat Latin American drug cartels, Trump responded:
“Latin America has many cartels, a lot of drug trafficking, so, you know, we want to protect our country. We have to protect it.”
International
Three injured in early-morning New York City shooting
A shooting in New York City early Saturday morning left three people injured, a police spokesperson told AFP.
The incident occurred at around 1:20 a.m. local time (05:20 GMT) following a dispute. An 18-year-old woman sustained a scratch to the neck, while a 19-year-old man and a 65-year-old man were injured in the lower limbs.
The victims were taken to Bellevue Hospital, where they were reported to be in stable condition.
The alleged shooter was taken into custody at the scene, and a firearm was recovered. As of now, the suspect has not been formally charged.
Videos circulating on social media show scenes of panic among the crowd, though AFP has not been able to verify their authenticity. The incident comes just weeks after another shooting in a Manhattan skyscraper that left four people injured before the gunman took his own life.
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