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
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka
Japanese police arrested a man on Thursday after he rammed his car into a group of seven schoolchildren in an apparent deliberate attack in the city of Osaka.
The children, who were on their way home from school, sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital. All seven remained conscious, according to local authorities.
An Osaka police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the suspect is a 28-year-old man from Tokyo. The officer shared statements the man made after his arrest: “I was fed up with everything, so I decided to kill people by driving into several elementary school children,” the suspect reportedly said.
The man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
The injured children, aged between seven and eight, included a seven-year-old girl who suffered a fractured jaw. The six other children—all boys—suffered minor injuries such as bruises and scratches and were undergoing medical evaluation.
Witnesses described the car as “zigzagging” before hitting the children. One witness told Nippon TV that a girl was “covered in blood” and the others appeared to have scratches.
Another witness said the driver, who was wearing a face mask, looked to be in shock when school staff pulled him from the vehicle.
Violent crimes are rare in Japan, though serious incidents do occur from time to time. In 2008, Tomohiro Kato drove a two-ton truck into pedestrians in Tokyo’s Akihabara district, then fatally stabbed several victims. Seven people were killed in that attack.
Internacionales
Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages
May Day protests in France were marked by a heavy police presence and clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement in several cities.
In Paris, Lyon, and Nantes, thousands took to the streets to demand better wages, fairer working conditions, and to voice their dissatisfaction with President Emmanuel Macron’s government.
While the majority of the demonstrations remained peaceful, isolated confrontations broke out in some areas. Protesters threw objects at the police, prompting the use of tear gas and resulting in several arrests.
Videos showing police crackdowns circulated widely on social media, drawing criticism from labor unions and human rights advocates, who denounced the authorities’ response to the protests.
International
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.
During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.
“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.
“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”
Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.
On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka
Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
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