Overview

• On June 30, 2025, an Ecuadorian court sentenced former vice president Jorge Glas to 13 additional years for embezzling funds raised to rebuild Manabí and Esmeraldas after the 2016 earthquake, extending his incarceration until 2041.
• Carlos Bernal, the former reconstruction official, received the same 13-year term for diverting tax revenues meant for post-quake recovery.
• Judge Mercedes Caicedo determined that reconstruction funds were misused on unrelated projects, including a remote bridge outside the disaster zone.
• The court also imposed a $28,800 fine on Glas and barred him from ever holding public office.
• Glas was captured in April 2024 when authorities stormed Mexico’s embassy in Quito to arrest him, an action that violated diplomatic norms and led Mexico to sever ties with Ecuador.