International

Former Correísta vice president Jorge Glas, sentenced to 13 years in prison for embezzlement in Ecuador

A court of the National Court of Justice of Ecuador unanimously decided on Monday to sentence former Correísta vice-president Jorge Glas to 13 years in prison for embezzlement (embezzlement of public funds) during the process of reconstruction of the areas affected by the 2016 earthquake, the case that led him to request asylum from the Mexican Embassy in Quito and that he was arrested in an invasion of the diplomatic headquarters when they granted it.

Along with Glas, who was in the courtroom in person, Carlos Bernal, former technical secretary of the Manabí Reconstruction Committee, created with the aim of carrying out the most urgent works, also received the same years in prison, who must also pay a fine of 60 unified basic salaries ($28,200) and compensation of 250 million dollars.

The court, composed of judges Mercedes Caicedo, Marco Rodríguez and Javier De la Cadena, determined that Glas and Bernal used their positions as president and secretary of the Committee to “abuse public money” that was to be used “for the care of earthquake victims”.

The magistrates considered the thesis of the Prosecutor’s Office, which during the trial of the case called the Reconstruction of Manabí, assured that Glas, who presided over the Committee, and Bernal prioritized projects of works that were not urgent and that the urgent requirements of those affected by the earthquake were not met, which generated a damage to the State of more than 225 million dollars.

The financing of these works, some of them unfinished or classified as unnecessary, came from funds from the Solidarity Law, created to alleviate the damage of the earthquake.

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“This money from Ecuadorians was allocated to 11 non-priority projects that would have benefited particular interests in the allocation and signing of contracts, and in the securities canceled by complementary and inspection contracts,” the Public Ministry said.

Glas assured days ago that he did not administer “a single dollar” during the reconstruction process, but Judge Caicedo said in the reading of the decision that, although the former vice president of Correísta did not sign contracts, they could show “his impulse to process and approve the prioritization of works under the context of an emergency, but that they did not attend to the emergency, but rather to an arbitrariness.”

In the same sense, Bernal’s defense had assured that the former secretary of the Committee did not award contracts either, but the magistrate pointed out that she was promoting the disbursement of money so that the institutions make those contracts and that the budget of some of those prioritized projects “finally reached the coffers of Bernal Alvarado’s family because the contracts were directed towards them.”

The judges also ordered the loss of participation rights for 25 years of both and that the Prosecutor’s Office initiates investigations into beneficiaries of contracts prioritized by the Committee, especially to the works related to Bernal’s family.

“This is not the trial of a political crime nor is it a political decision, this is about funds that were not used in favor of the victims of the earthquake, who to date suffer the pain of loss, so it is necessary to repair the damage caused by the actions carried out by Jorge Glas and Carlos Bernal,” Caicedo added.

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Jorge Glas, one of the strongmen of the Government of Rafael Correa (2007-2017), is already serving an eight-year prison sentence following two convictions for corruption imposed in 2017, for illicit association in the Odebrecht case, and in 2020 for bribery in the Bribery case, in which Correa was also sentenced to eight years and politically disqualified.

At the end of 2022 he was released from prison thanks to a controversial and irregular judicial decision and he remained free for just over a year, until at the end of 2023 he arrived at the Mexican Embassy in Quito, where he asked for asylum, when he warned that the Prosecutor’s Office sought to prosecute him for this same case.

Months later, on April 5, 2024, the President of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, ordered the assault of the diplomatic headquarters to arrest Jorge Glas, once the Mexican Government had granted him asylum considering him a “political persecuted” and since that day he is imprisoned in La Roca, the maximum security prison of the country.

The invasion of the embassy led to the rupture of relations between the two countries and a dispute in the International Court of Justice, where Mexico accuses Ecuador of having broken the inviolability of the diplomatic headquarters and Ecuador blames the North American country of having contravened the treaties that regulate diplomatic asylum.

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International

IEA warns Middle East conflict could spark worst energy crisis in decades

The ongoing conflict in the Middle East could trigger the worst energy crisis in decades, warned Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency (IEA), who described the situation as “very serious.”

Speaking at the National Press Club in Canberra, Birol compared the current scenario to the oil crises of the 1970s, noting that during those events the world lost around five million barrels of oil per day in each crisis.

“Today, we have lost 11 million barrels per day—more than the two major oil shocks combined,” he said.

The Turkish economist referred to the conflict that began on February 28, following attacks by the United States and Israel against Iran, which have significantly disrupted global energy markets and driven oil prices higher.

Birol warned that the global economy is facing a “very, very serious threat” and expressed hope that the crisis will be resolved soon.

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“No country will be immune to the effects of this crisis if it continues in this direction. Global efforts are urgently needed,” he emphasized.

International

Colombian Air Force Hercules plane crashes during takeoff with troops onboard

A Lockheed C-130 Hercules operated by the Colombian Air Force was involved in a “tragic accident” while taking off from Puerto Leguízamo, in the Putumayo department of southern Colombia, as it was transporting troops, Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez reported on Monday.

The minister stated on social media that the exact number of victims and the causes of the crash have not yet been determined. He also extended his condolences to the families affected and urged the public to avoid speculation until official information is confirmed.

“This is a deeply painful event for the country. Our prayers are with the victims and their families,” Sánchez said, adding that emergency protocols have been activated and an investigation is underway.

Meanwhile, President Gustavo Petro expressed hope that there would be no fatalities in what he described as a “horrific accident that should not have happened.”

Petro also highlighted ongoing efforts to modernize the country’s air fleet and reiterated the need to acquire new helicopters and transport aircraft to strengthen military mobility, particularly in remote regions.

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According to local media reports, approximately 110 soldiers were on board the aircraft. So far, at least 20 injured military personnel have been rescued.

International

Paris prosecutors alert U.S. over alleged deepfake strategy linked to Elon Musk

The Paris Prosecutor’s Office said on Saturday that it had alerted authorities in the United States over suspicions that tech entrepreneur Elon Musk may have encouraged the spread of sexualized deepfake content on the social platform X to artificially boost the company’s valuation.

According to prosecutors, the controversy surrounding explicit AI-generated videos—reportedly linked to Grok, the platform’s artificial intelligence system—may have been deliberately triggered to increase the market value of X and X AI.

The office added that the alleged strategy could be tied to the planned June 2026 public listing of a new entity formed through the merger of SpaceX and X AI.

French authorities said they contacted the U.S. Department of Justice as well as legal representatives at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) earlier this week to share their concerns.

Responding on X in French to a report about the case, Musk referred to French prosecutors using an offensive term.

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When contacted, X’s legal representative in France did not immediately comment.

Grok, the platform’s AI system, has its own account on X, allowing users to interact with it or request content generation. For a period, users were able to tag the bot in posts to generate or edit images, a feature that may have facilitated the spread of such material.