Statement for the immediate release of Jorge Glas
In an internationally condemned act, on April 5, 2024, the President of the Republic of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, ordered the violent incursion of military and police forces of that country against the Embassy of Mexico in Quito.
This meant that foreign forces invaded Mexican territory, constituting a flagrant and extremely serious violation of international law. The objective of this act was to kidnap Jorge Glas Espinel, the former Ecuadorian vice president, who has been persecuted and harassed judicially and politically for seven years. Glas was residing in the diplomatic mission under political asylum.
Mexican
The Mexican government, with broad support from the international community, sued the Ecuadorian state before the International Court of Justice for violating the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. Invoking universal jurisdiction, this lawsuit included a charge of aggravated kidnapping.
and torture against the political asylee.
The kidnapping of Jorge Glas was carried out with extreme violence. During his transfer and imprisonment in a maximum-security prison in Guayaquil, he suffered torture, cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, as well as death threats. All of this led him to begin a hunger strike, which has now lasted for more than 60 days.
Despite the fact that the Ecuadorian judicial branch itself, when ruling on an appeal of Habeas CorpusThe National Court of Justice of Ecuador (CNJ) rejected the appeal on June 07th, acknowledging that the detention of Jorge Glas was illegal. Habeas Corpus who demanded the immediate release of Glas.
There is no precedent for an attack of this nature against an embassy to kidnap an asylum seeker. Not even during the ominous era of Latin American military dictatorships did they dare to perpetrate such a vile aggression.
More than two months after the kidnapping of Jorge Glas and the start of his hunger strike, we strongly express our extreme concern about the imminent risks to his life and safety. We hold the government of Daniel Noboa, who has confessed to his kidnapping and the violation of his fundamental rights, directly responsible.
In accordance with International Law, to which the Ecuadorian State is bound, we demand the immediate recognition of Jorge Glas's status as a political asylee, and the granting of the corresponding safe passage so that he can travel safely to Mexican territory.
June 18th, 2024
CLACSO Working Groups
GGeopolitics, regional integration and the world system
Studies on the United States
Crisis and the global economy
Proposal for regional integration
South-South migration and borders
Postgraduate program in Latin American Studies at UNAM
This text expresses the position of the aforementioned Working Groups and not necessarily that of the centers and institutions that make up the CLACSO international network, its Steering Committee or its Executive Secretariat.
