Ecuadorian ex-vice president Jorge Glas was hospitalized on Monday, days after the controversial police raid that led to his arrest inside the Mexican embassy in Quito.
Glas was admitted to a hospital in Guayaquil after he declined to eat any of the provided food during his detention, the country's national prison agency SNAI said on Monday.
Emergency medical personnel from the Ministry of Public Health transferred Glas to the Naval Hospital of Guayaquil. He was in stable condition and will be closely monitored before being returned to prison, SNAI said.
The hospitalization comes shortly after Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa published an open letter on his X account, formerly Twitter, in which he defended the arrest of Glas and the police action at the Mexican diplomatic premises, which are considered foreign territory and deemed "inviolable" under the Vienna treaties.
Glas had been staying at the Mexican embassy in Quito since December, seeking asylum after facing corruption charges. He was accused by Ecuadorian authorities of embezzling government funds meant to help rebuild after a devastating 2016 earthquake.
"My obligation is to comply with the rulings of justice and we could not allow convicted criminals involved in very serious crimes to be granted asylum," Noboa wrote in a passage of the letter.
"I have made exceptional decisions to protect national security, the rule of law and the dignity of a people who reject any type of impunity for criminals, delinquents, corrupt people or narco-terrorists."
A la ciudadanía y la comunidad internacional: pic.twitter.com/ApGngKJqVB
— Daniel Noboa Azin (@DanielNoboaOk) April 8, 2024
Glas, who has faced two prior convictions on corruption charges, served as vice president from 2013 to 2017 under the administration of then-President Rafael Correa, who currently leads the opposition movement Citizen Revolution.
Two lawmakers from Correa's party are set to introduce before Congress an impeachment motion against Gabriela Sommerfeld, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Mónica Palencia, Acting Minister of the Interior, for their actions in Glas' arrest.
The coalition has argued that the raid into the Mexican embassy in Quito to capture Glas amounted to "kidnapping," as he had asylum status, according to what the Mexican government had announced hours before the incursion.
They also highlighted the raid has prompted considerable international concern and has significant consequences in the political, commercial, and foreign relations spheres.
International leaders have almost unanimously condemned Ecuador for these actions. "The United States condemns any violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, and takes very seriously the obligation of host countries under international law to respect the inviolability of diplomatic missions," U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.
Mexico, which has withdrawn its diplomats from Ecuador after severing diplomatic ties with the country, announced on Sunday that it will file a complaint against Ecuador at the International Court of Justice.
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