US bars ex-Ecuador president, former vice president from entry over corruption

By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. State Department has barred former Ecuador President Rafael Correa and former Vice President Jorge Glas from entry into the United States due to involvement in corruption, the department said on Wednesday.

"Correa and Glas abused their positions as former president of Ecuador and former vice president of Ecuador, respectively, by accepting bribes, including through political contributions, in exchange for granting favorable government contracts," the State Department said in a statement.

The department said it also barred the spouses and children of the former Ecuador officials from entering the U.S.

Correa reacted in a post on X, claiming that his sentencing locally for the charges was without merit and that the U.S. barring him from entry was not fair.

The former president lives in Belgium and has been convicted of corruption and sentenced to prison. He has denied the accusations, describing the case against him as one of political persecution led by his opponents.

Glas' attorney, Sonia Gabriela Vera, said on X that barring the former vice president from entry aims to interfere in Ecuador's elections, calling it, without evidence, a "political maneuver to favor specific interests."

Glas, also convicted of corruption, was jailed in Ecuador. He attempted suicide earlier this year and went on a hunger strike in a prison to protest his arrest, according to his lawyer.

Mexico and Ecuador had filed lawsuits against each other at the World Court after the April arrest of Glas, who had been living in the Mexican embassy in Quito.

Mexico accused Ecuador of violating international law by breaching the embassy, while Ecuador accused Mexico of illegally granting asylum to Glas.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in WashingtonEditing by Rami Ayyub and Matthew Lewis)