Jorge Glas

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In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Glas and the second or maternal family name is Espinel.

Jorge Glas
Glas in 2017
48th Vice President of Ecuador
In office
24 May 2013 – 3 January 2018[a]
PresidentRafael Correa
Lenín Moreno
Preceded byLenín Moreno
Succeeded byMaría Alejandra Vicuña
Coordinating Minister of Strategic Sectors
In office
5 April 2010 – 10 November 2012
PresidentRafael Correa
Preceded byGalo Borja
Succeeded byRafael Poveda
Minister of Telecommunications and Information Society
In office
14 August 2009 – 3 April 2010
PresidentRafael Correa
Preceded byPosition created
Succeeded byJaime Guerrero
Personal details
Born
Jorge David Glas Espinel

(1969-09-13) 13 September 1969 (age 54)
Guayaquil, Ecuador
Citizenship
  • Ecuador
  • Germany
Political partyUnion for Hope
Other political
affiliations		PAIS Alliance
SpouseCinthia Díaz Aveiga
Parent(s)Jorge Glas Viejó
Norma Espinel Aráuz
Alma materESPOL

Jorge David Glas Espinel (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈxoɾ.xe ðaˈβið ɣlas espiˈnel]; born 13 September 1969) is an Ecuadorian politician and electrical engineer. He served as Vice President of Ecuador from 24 May 2013 to 13 December 2017. Then Ecuadorian president Lenín Moreno suspended Glas of his official duties as vice president on 3 August 2017. In December 2017, Glas was sentenced to six years imprisonment by a Criminal Tribunal of the National Court of Justice, for receiving over $13.5 million in bribes in the Odebrecht scandal.[1] In April 2024 during a raid on the Mexican embassy by Ecuadorian police, Glas was arrested and held in prison resulting in Mexico severing relations with Ecuador.

Early life and education[edit]

Jorge Glas was born 13 September 1969 in Guayaquil. He has known and been friends with Rafael Correa, the former president of Ecuador, since their time as boy scouts.[2]

On 22 September 2008, Glas graduated in electrical and electronics engineering from the ESPOL.[3] National Assembly member for the Patriotic Society Party, Galo Lara, reported Glas on 3 January 2013 to the police for plagiarism in his thesis and for holding public office while not being qualified to do so. Lara said that Glas during his term as General Manager of the Solidarity Fund needed an academic title of the third degree, which Glas did not have.[3] Glas's thesis was reviewed by Genove Gneco, a professor from the Dominican Republic who found suspected plagiarism in four theses by top governmental officials in his own country, including then-President Danilo Medina. Gneco found 35% of Glas's thesis to be suspected plagiarism.[4] An investigation by a commission set up by ESPOL acquitted Glas of plagiarism. Glas however recognized that he should have cited his sources better.[5]

Political career[edit]

Starting in 2007, Glas held several political appointments in the government of Rafael Correa. He was general manager of the now-closed Solidarity Fund between 2007 and 2009. The company was an amalgamation of several public companies of telecommunications and electricity generation and distribution. He was also president of the National Telecommunications Council. Afterwards, Glas was Minister of Telecommunications and later became Coordinating Minister of Strategic Sectors. He directed the merger of Andinatel S.A. and Pacifitel S.A. into the National Corporation of Telecommunications, a corporation of which he became the first chairperson.[6] As Coordinating Minister of Strategic Sectors, he was responsible for building several hydroelectric stations.[2]

In the 2013 Ecuadorian general election, Glas was elected Vice President of Ecuador. He commenced his term as vice president on 24 May 2013.[7] On 4 August 2017, Glas was suspended from his duties as vice president by new president Lenín Moreno.[8][9][10][11][12]

Prison sentences[edit]

On 15 December 2017, Glas was sentenced to six years in prison for taking $13.5 million from Brazilian conglomerate Odebrecht.[13] On 2 January 2018, under Ecuador's Constitution's Article 146, as Glas was unable to exercise his office for 90 days, he was stripped of his office.[14] On 6 January 2018, María Alejandra Vicuña was formally sworn in as Vice President of Ecuador after the National Assembly voted to approve her for the position.[citation needed] In October 2019, The National Supreme Court of Justice reaffirmed his six-year prison sentence. Glas was imprisoned in Latacunga, south of Quito, in 2017.[15] In April 2020, Glas was sentenced to 8 years in prison for aggravated bribery by a Court of the National Court of Justice. In addition, he lost his political rights for 25 years.[16] In January 2021, Ecuador's Superior Court added another sentence of eight years in prison for misuse of public funds in an oil contract.[17]

Glas was granted Habeas corpus on 10 April 2022, which allowed him to be released on parole for 40 days since his legal guarantees had been allegedly violated and also due to the inability to provide in prison the care that he needed for a health condition,[18] which was revoked by a court in the province of Santa Elena, with which Jorge Glas was imprisoned again.[19] In November 2022, Glas was released again, but could not leave the country during the remainder of his sentences. Then the attorney general's office said in a statement it was insisting on charging Glas with respect to the case involving public funds collected to aid the reconstruction of Manabí Province after a 2016 earthquake. But in December 2023 Jorge Glas entered the Mexican embassy in Quito and asked for political asylum, arguing he was being politically persecuted.[20]

On 5 April 2024, he was arrested by Ecuadorian police after they raided the Mexican embassy in Quito.[21] After this incident, Mexico severed diplomatic relations with Ecuador.[22] The next day, Nicaragua broke ties with Ecuador in solidarity with Mexico.[23][24]

On 9 April 2024, prison authorities said that Glas had been hospitalized in the Guayaquil naval hospital after not eating for 24 hours, adding that his condition was stable.[25]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Suspended from 3 August 2017 until his removal from office. Powers and duties were transferred to María Vicuña.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Fergus Shiel; Sasha Chavkin (25 June 2019). "Bribery Division: What is Odebrecht? Who is Involved?". International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  2. ^ a b Araujo, Alberto (23 January 2013). "El hombre de los contratos millonarios" (in Spanish). El Comercio. Archived from the original on 25 January 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  3. ^ a b "Asambleísta Lara dice que Jorge Glas ejercía su cargo cuando era bachiller" (in Spanish). El Universo. 3 January 2013. Archived from the original on 4 June 2013. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
  4. ^ "Informe señala inconsistencias en tesis de Jorge Glas" (in Spanish). El Universo. 9 January 2013. Archived from the original on 19 May 2013. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
  5. ^ "Jorge Glas dice que Espol ratifica validez de su tesis de grado" (in Spanish). El Universo. 17 May 2013. Archived from the original on 12 June 2013. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
  6. ^ Vinueza, Robertson (10 November 2012). "Jorge Glas es el candidato a la Vicepresidencia del Ecuador por la Alianza Pais" (in Spanish). Agencia Pública de Noticias del Ecuador y Suramérica. Archived from the original on 6 June 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  7. ^ "Vicepresidentes en la historia" (PDF). www.vicepresidencia.gob.ec. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 October 2015. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  8. ^ "Vicepresidente Jorge Glas denuncia persecución política en su contra" (in Spanish). El Universo. 7 August 2017. Archived from the original on 9 August 2017. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  9. ^ "Lenín Moreno retira de sus funciones al vicepresidente de Ecuador Jorge Glas" (in Spanish). CNN Espanol. 3 August 2017. Archived from the original on 3 August 2017. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
  10. ^ "Ecuador's President Lenin Moreno Strips Vice President Jorge Glas Of All Functions". NDTV. Archived from the original on 4 August 2017. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  11. ^ "Presidente Lenín Moreno retira de todas sus funciones a Jorge Glas" (in Spanish). El Universo. 3 August 2017. Archived from the original on 6 August 2017. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
  12. ^ "Ecuador leader strips vice president of powers due to corruption case". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 4 August 2017. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
  13. ^ "Odebrecht case: Politicians worldwide suspected in bribery scandal". BBC News. BBC. 15 December 2017. Archived from the original on 14 February 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  14. ^ "Ecuador's jailed vice president to be stripped of office". Channel NewsAsia. Archived from the original on 3 January 2018. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  15. ^ "Ecuador court upholds ex-vice president's prison sentence". France 24. 17 October 2019.
  16. ^ "EcuadorTimes.net | Breaking News, Ecuador News, World, Sports, Entertainment » Court sentences Rafael Correa and Jorge Glas to 8 years in prison in Bribes case". www.ecuadortimes.net.
  17. ^ "EcuadorTimes.net | Breaking News, Ecuador News, World, Sports, Entertainment » With divided decision, court sentences former vice president Jorge Glas to 8 years in prison for Singue case". www.ecuadortimes.net.
  18. ^ "Former Ecuador vice president released from prison". Reuters. 10 April 2022.
  19. ^ Valencia, Alexandra (20 May 2022). "Justice of Ecuador orders that former Vice President Glas return to prison". Reuters.
  20. ^ "Former Ecuador VP asks for asylum in Mexico -lawyer". Reuters. 22 December 2023. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  21. ^ "Mexico's president says country will break diplomatic ties with Ecuador, after police raid embassy". Associated Press. 5 April 2024. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  22. ^ "'Outrage against international law': Mexico breaks diplomatic ties with Ecuador over embassy raid". CNN. 5 April 2024. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  23. ^ "Nicaragua kutter forbindelsen med Ecuador etter omstridt ambassadeaksjon". 6 April 2024.
  24. ^ https://english.alarabiya.net/News/2024/04/06/nicaragua-cuts-ties-with-ecuador-after-raid-on-mexican-embassy
  25. ^ "Ecuador ex-VP Jorge Glas hospitalised after capture from Mexico embassy". Al Jazeera. 9 April 2024. Archived from the original on 9 April 2024. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
Political offices
Preceded by Vice President of Ecuador
2013–2017 		Succeeded by
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