International
Justice of Ecuador revokes the ruling that declared the capture of Glas at the Embassy of Mexico illegal
An appeals court of Ecuador rejected this Friday in second instance the habeas corpus appeal that requested the immediate release of Jorge Glas, former vice president of Rafael Correa, and revoked the original ruling that described his detention within the Mexican Embassy in Quito, when the Government of this country had granted him asylum, as illegal and arbitrary.
The Specialized Administrative Litigation Chamber of the National Court of Justice agreed that Glas’s arrest, which occurred on April 5 in a police invasion of Mexico’s diplomatic headquarters condemned almost unanimously by the international community, was “legal, legitimate and not arbitrary,” according to Glas’s lawyers.
The court of first instance that reviewed the habeas corpus presented in favor of Glas had initially determined that the detention was illegal and arbitrary because the protocol of raids on foreign diplomatic delegations in Ecuador had not been respected, but kept Glas in prison pending the end of serving an eight-year prison sentence for two convictions (corruption and illicit association) in cases of corruption.
The sentence accepted the Government’s arguments, which say that the entry without permission at the Mexican Embassy in Quito sought to prevent the escape of a defendant on whom an arrest warrant weighed and who still had convictions in force.
The habeas corpus, promoted by lawyer Francisco Hidalgo, requested the Ecuadorian Justice to order the release of Glas and deliver him to Mexico or a third country willing to respect the asylum given to him by the Mexican Executive.
Glas, who rejects the charges against him and declares himself a politically persecuted, had arrived at Mexico’s diplomatic headquarters on December 17, 2023 to apply for asylum, when the Prosecutor’s Office was preparing to prosecute him for alleged embezzlement (embezzlement of public funds) in the reconstruction works after the devastating earthquake of 2016.
The Government of Mexico granted asylum to Glas in the midst of a crisis with Ecuador, whose president, Daniel Noboa, had expelled ambassador Raquel Serur after the Mexican president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, related in statements the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio with Noboa’s electoral triumph.
After his capture, Glas was imprisoned in La Roca, the maximum security prison in Ecuador that is part of the Guayaquil penitentiary complex, a set of five prisons that since June 1 has suspended the food service by the supplier company.
The new sentence issued this Friday ordered the National Service of Comprehensive Care to Persons Deprived of Liberty (SNAI), the state penitentiary agency, to guarantee and teate the rights of Glas, “especially the right to life, health and integrity, in consideration of the current prison context.”
Glas, who also has German citizenship, was one of the strong men of the Correa Government (2007-2017), and between 2013 and 2017 he held the position of vice president, as well as during the first months of Lenín Moreno’s mandate (2017-2021), until investigations began against him.
“They never notified the composition of the court of appeal, they never made known. They didn’t even deign to mention who presented the amicus curiae,” lamented the former president.
Among the amicus curiae who had joined the appeal to provide arguments in favor of Glas’s petition were the Puebla Group, the Lawfare Observatory, the Argentine jurist Eugenio Zaffaroni and the former ambassador of Bolivia to the UN Sacha Llorenti.
“Everyone knows and has seen that it was done by pulverizing international law and Ecuadorian law. We will not stop denouncing this case until we reach his freedom,” Sacha Llorenti said on social network X this Friday.
Mexico and Ecuador have counterclaimed before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for the events that occurred on April 5, with mutual accusations of having transgressed international conventions and standards.
International
U.S. Senate Rejects Budget, Bringing Government Closer to Shutdown Amid DHS Dispute
The U.S. Senate voted on Thursday against a budget proposal in a move aimed at pressuring changes at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), following the killing of two civilians during a deployment of immigration agents in Minneapolis.
All Senate Democrats and seven Republican lawmakers voted against the bill, which requires 60 votes to advance, pushing the country closer to a partial government shutdown that would cut funding for several agencies, including the Pentagon and the Department of Health.
The rejection came as Senate leaders and the White House continue negotiations on a separate funding package for DHS that would allow reforms to the agency. Proposed measures include banning Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from wearing face coverings and requiring them to use body-worn cameras during operations.
The vote took place just hours after President Donald Trump said he was “close” to reaching an agreement with Democrats and did not believe the federal government would face another shutdown, following last year’s record stoppage.
“I don’t think the Democrats want a shutdown either, so we’ll work in a bipartisan way to avoid it. Hopefully, there will be no government shutdown. We’re working on that right now,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting at the White House.
International
Trump Says Putin Agreed to One-Week Halt in Attacks on Ukraine Amid Extreme Cold
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he secured a commitment from Russian President Vladimir Putinto halt attacks against Ukraine for one week, citing extreme weather conditions affecting the region.
“Because of the extreme cold (…) I personally asked Putin not to attack Kyiv or other cities and towns for a week. And he agreed. He was very pleasant,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting broadcast by the White House.
Trump acknowledged that several advisers had questioned the decision to make the call.
“A lot of people told me not to waste the call because they wouldn’t agree. And he accepted. And we’re very happy they did, because they don’t need missiles hitting their towns and cities,” the president said.
According to Trump, Ukrainian authorities reacted with surprise to the announcement but welcomed the possibility of a temporary ceasefire.
“It’s extraordinarily cold, record cold (…) They say they’ve never experienced cold like this,” he added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky later commented on the announcement, expressing hope that the agreement would be honored.
International
Storm Kristin Kills Five in Portugal, Leaves Nearly 500,000 Without Power
Storm Kristin, which battered Portugal with heavy rain and strong winds early Wednesday, has left at least five people dead, while nearly half a million residents remained without electricity as of Thursday, according to updated figures from authorities.
The revised death toll was confirmed to AFP by a spokesperson for the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANPEC). On Wednesday, the agency had reported four fatalities.
Meanwhile, E-Redes, the country’s electricity distribution network operator, said that around 450,000 customers were still without power, particularly in central Portugal.
Emergency services responded to approximately 1,500 incidents between midnight and 8:00 a.m. local time on Wednesday, as the storm caused widespread disruptions.
The Portuguese government described Kristin as an “extreme weather event” that inflicted significant damage across several regions of the country. At the height of the storm, as many as 850,000 households and institutions lost electricity during the early hours of Wednesday.
Several municipalities ordered the closure of schools, many of which remained shut on Thursday due to ongoing adverse conditions.
Ricardo Costa, regional deputy commander of the Leiria Fire Brigade, said residents continue to seek assistance as rainfall persists.
“Even though the rain is not extremely intense, it is causing extensive damage to homes,” he noted.
In Figueira da Foz, a coastal city in central Portugal, strong winds toppled a giant Ferris wheel, underscoring the severity of the storm.
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