The Government of Mexico, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE, Chancellery) requested this Monday from the Government of Ecuador a safe conduct for former Vice President Jorge Glas, at the request of be delivered and transferred to a third country in accordance with Article XIX of the Caracas Convention.
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In addition, Mexico also requested that, while the aforementioned safe-conduct pass is being issued, the necessary humanitarian measures be taken so that Glas “is released from prison and placed in a safe place, in light of his reported critical state of health.”
In a statement, the SRE reported that, based on the agreement signed with Switzerland on June 15, 2024 to safeguard Mexican interests in Ecuador, “the Government of Mexico has formally requested the Government of Ecuador for safe conduct in favor of Mr. Jorge David Glas Espinel, a Mexican political asylum seeker, in terms of Articles IX, XII and XIII of the 1954 Convention on Diplomatic Asylum (Caracas Convention), an international treaty binding on Mexico and Ecuador.”
The above, “so that Mr. Glas Espinel, at the request of the interested party, may be handed over and transferred to a third country in accordance with Article XIX of the Caracas Convention.”
The Mexican Foreign Ministry recalled that Mexico granted political asylum to Glas Espinel on April 4, 2024, which was publicly announced the following day through a press release from the SRE, and officially transmitted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility of Ecuador through a diplomatic note on April 6, 2024.
“The origin and need to grant international protection from the Mexican State to Mr. Glas Espinel was the result of an exhaustive evaluation of the information received by him and by the Government of Ecuador since December 2023,” the SRE noted.
And he said that this was based on the grounds of political asylum and on the verification of compliance with its requirements in the case in question, in accordance with Articles I, IV and IX of the Caracas Convention.
The SRE also said, “The decision is based on the observance of the pro persona principle, enshrined in the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States, and is part of Mexico’s historic humanist tradition of protecting people persecuted for political reasons.”
The SRE concluded its communication by stating that “Mexico will continue to honor its unwavering commitment to ensure respect for and protection of the rights of those it has deemed necessary to provide asylum and protection to, as is the case of Mr. Glas Espinel.”
Breach of duty?
An accusation promoted by CorreÃsmo against the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility, Gabriela Sommerfeld, raises an alleged breach of duties by the foreign minister due to the police raid on April 5 at the Mexican Embassy in Quito to arrest Glas, former vice president in the government of Rafael Correa (2007-2017), who had taken refuge there while awaiting asylum from the Mexican government and who had been subject to a court order for his arrest.
This episode led to a diplomatic crisis between the two countries, which have broken relations and are also facing proceedings for this same case before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, with mutual accusations of violating international law and treaties on diplomatic relations.
During her appearance before the Oversight Committee last week to defend herself against the accusations, Sommerfeld said that this impeachment is not against her but against the country, considering that the process could offer arguments to Mexico in the case that is being heard in the International Court.
After the arrest, Correa’s former vice president was confined in La Roca, Ecuador’s maximum security prison, in the city of Guayaquil, for having to serve an eight-year sentence for two convictions in corruption cases, although the CorreÃsmo considers that this is part of a judicial persecution (‘lawfare’) against this political force.
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