The political drama surrounding former Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge Glas reached a turning point Monday when he was sentenced to 13 years in prison for misusing public funds. The ruling stems from a corruption case tied to the 2016 earthquake relief effort, where Glas was found to have directed reconstruction funds toward “useless and unnecessary buildings”—a move the judge called a blatant insult to victims.

This sentence adds to Glas’s already existing prison terms from two previous corruption convictions, solidifying his status as one of the most controversial figures in Ecuador’s recent political history. The court also banned him from ever holding public office again and fined him $28,800.

But the story took an international twist earlier this year when Glas was dramatically arrested in April 2024 during a police raid on the Mexican embassy in Quito, where he had been granted asylum. The move drew global condemnation, with leaders citing a breach of the Vienna Convention, which protects diplomatic missions as sovereign territory.

Despite criticism, President Daniel Noboa’s government defended the embassy raid, insisting that Glas was a fugitive facing legal—not political—charges, and thus did not qualify for asylum.

The sentencing marks a new chapter in a case that blends corruption, diplomacy, and questions of international law—leaving Ecuador navigating not just its own justice system, but also a strained relationship with Mexico and the broader international community.