Ecuador Recalls Ambassador from Colombia Over Jorge Glas Comments

Ecuador recalled its ambassador from Colombia after Colombian President Gustavo Petro called former Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge Glas a political prisoner suffering severe malnutrition in prison. Glas is serving multiple sentences totaling over 27 years for corruption convictions, including a 2017 sentence for accepting $13.5 million in bribes as part of the Odebrecht scandal. Ecuador's right-wing President Daniel Noboa denounced such characterizations as assaults on Ecuador's sovereignty, escalating tensions with left-wing Petro, who granted Glas Colombian citizenship in September 2025 and demanded his transfer to Colombian custody. The dispute follows Ecuador's controversial April 2024 raid on Mexico's embassy in Quito to arrest Glas, who had sought asylum there, prompting Mexico to sever diplomatic relations that remain broken today.

Ecuador's recall of ambassador over Jorge Glas remarks

• ▪Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa made a social media statement on Tuesday denouncing critics who consider Jorge Glas to be a political prisoner.
• ▪Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa stated that considering Jorge Glas a political prisoner constitutes an assault on Ecuador's sovereignty and a violation of the principle of non-intervention.
• ▪Ecuador recalled its ambassador Arturo Felix Wong from Colombia over remarks related to the Jorge Glas case.

Jorge Glas case and the Mexican embassy raid

• ▪Colombia granted citizenship to Jorge Glas in September 2025.
• ▪Jorge Glas was convicted as part of the Odebrecht scandal involving government officials across Latin America accused of taking bribes.
• ▪Jorge Glas is a former Ecuadorian Vice President currently serving a lengthy prison sentence for corruption.
• ▪Jorge Glas faced an additional eight-year prison sentence in 2020.
• ▪Jorge Glas had been sheltering in the Mexican embassy since December 2023, claiming political persecution in Ecuador.
• ▪Jorge Glas is serving his sentence in a maximum-security prison in Ecuador called El Encuentro.
• ▪Jorge Glas was sentenced to six years in prison in 2017 for allegedly accepting bribes worth $13.5 million.
• ▪Ecuadorian authorities stormed the Mexican embassy in Quito on April 5, 2024, to arrest Jorge Glas.
• ▪Mexico broke diplomatic relations with Ecuador following the April 5, 2024 embassy raid, a rupture that continues to the present day.
• ▪Jorge Glas was sentenced to an additional 13 years in prison for misuse of public funds after the embassy raid.

Escalating tensions between Ecuador and Colombia

• ▪Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa imposed 50-percent tariffs on Colombia since March 2026 based on accusations of lax drug trafficking enforcement.
• ▪Colombian President Gustavo Petro stated on Monday that Jorge Glas is a political prisoner.
• ▪Colombian President Gustavo Petro accused Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa of carrying out a bombing campaign near the Colombian border that resulted in the recovery of 27 charred bodies.
• ▪Colombian President Gustavo Petro called for Jorge Glas to be transferred into Colombian custody in September 2025.
• ▪United States President Donald Trump was sworn in for a second term in January 2025.
• ▪Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa and United States President Donald Trump have grown close since January 2025.

Perspective of Mexico

• ▪Mexico considers the April 5, 2024 raid on its embassy in Quito a violation of diplomatic immunity and international law.

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