Ecuador judge sends former vice-president Jorge Glas to trial

Quito, Ecuador - A judge in Ecuador on Monday ruled former vice president Jorge Glas will face trial for alleged misuse of public funds allocated to rebuild areas affected by a devastating 2016 earthquake.

Glas is currently in prison serving out convictions in two prior corruption cases.

The attorney general's office had asked that Glas and eight other ex-officials, some of whom are outside the country, face charges in the case.

Prosecutors accuse Glas, who led the reconstruction effort for Manabi and Esmeraldas provinces after the earthquake, of misdirecting funds for non-priority works.

Judge Marco Aguirre said during a public hearing that there were indications that Glas committed embezzlement by using funds intended for reconstruction for other projects that were not related to the reconstruction in Manabi.

The funds were raised through taxes, including an increase in VAT.

The prosecution also claims the funds were misused for the benefit of contractors and supervisors involved in the reconstruction.

Glas, who served as vice president under Rafael Correa from 2013 to 2017, was captured by Ecuadorean authorities following a raid on the Mexican embassy in Quito last year, which led to the severing of diplomatic ties between Ecuador and Mexico.

Glas' lawyer Sonia Vera said in a post on X that the ruling was a sign of "the use of criminal proceedings as a tool of political persecution, in open violation of due process."

She added that there was no evidence of misappropriation of public funds for personal benefit or that of third parties nor harm to the national treasury, both essential requirements to establish the crime of embezzlement.

(Reporting by Alexandra Valencia; Writing by Sarah Morland, Editing by Natalia Siniawski)