(CNN in Spanish) — Mexican Foreign Minister Alicia Bárcena Ibarra said on Friday that her government will not allow Ecuadorian authorities to enter the Mexican embassy in Quito to arrest former Vice President Jorge Glas, who is wanted for his alleged participation in an embezzlement case, in which the former official has been pleaded not guilty.
“This cannot be done, because that would violate the diplomatic immunity of our embassy,” the official said during a telephone interview with Mexican journalist Leonardo Curzio in response to his request. “Our embassies are places that have very important diplomatic immunity.” The government of Ecuador, which was announced on Friday.
As of Saturday, the Mexican Foreign Ministry had not issued an official statement, but the entity posted part of the interview on the social networking site at the request of the Ecuadorian government to… @EmbaMexEcu Concerning Ecuadorian Jorge Glass.”
The media also received a copy of the clip sent by the State Department, which proved to be the Mexican official's statements “in relation to the case of Jorge Glas.”
CNN contacted the Ecuadorian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday for comment, and they responded that they were working on providing a response.
In his interview on Friday, Bárcena also said Mexico was continuing to analyze Glass's asylum application and determine “to what extent this represents political persecution of Jorge Glass; to what extent it represents a legal and corruption problem.”
“So no, they will never enter the embassy,” Bárcena explained in the interview.
Glass, sought and awaits asylum
Last December, the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that the former Vice President entered the diplomatic delegation as a guest, requesting its protection and expressing his fear for his safety and personal freedom. Following his confession, Glass's defense confirmed to CNN that the former vice president formally requested political asylum on December 20.
At the beginning of January, Judge Luis Rivera, judge of the National Court of Justice, issued pretrial detention against former Vice President Jorge Glas in connection with the “Reconstruction of Manabi” case for his alleged participation in the crime of embezzlement. Glass's defense rejected the allegations.
Glass (along with other defendants) must be held accountable for alleged embezzlement for the misuse of public resources that should be used for the reconstruction and productive reactivation of employment, after the earthquake that shook the Manabi region, in northern Ecuador, in 2013. April 2016.
Ana Maria Cañizares contributed reporting for this publication.
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