Former Ecuadorian President, Vice President Barred From U.S.

News Americas, New York, NY, October 9, 2024: The U.S. Department of State has designated two former Ecuadorian officials, Rafael Vicente Correa Delgado, former president of Ecuador, and Jorge David Glas Espinel, former vice president, as ineligible for entry into the United States due to their involvement in significant corruption during their time in office.

Ecuador’s former President Rafael Correa delivering remarks denouncing Ecuadorian authorities’ storming of the Mexican embassy in Quito, during a press conference at the European Parliament in Brussels on April 9, 2024. (Photo by KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP via Getty Images)

Correa and Glas abused their positions by accepting bribes, including political contributions, in exchange for awarding favorable government contracts, the Department said today. This action by the U.S. government underscores its support for Ecuadorian citizens, including civil society members, law enforcement, and investigative journalists, who are committed to promoting government transparency and holding corrupt officials accountable.

FLASHBACK – Ecuadorean Vice President Jorge Glas (C), accompanied by his son David, opens the valve of the Tiputini C well starting the oil production at the ITT field in Tiputini, Ecuador, on September 7, 2016. (Photo credit: RODRIGO BUENDIA/AFP via Getty Images)

The designations fall under Section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2024, which allows for public designations of individuals involved in significant corruption. The U.S. emphasized that anti-corruption measures, especially within government procurement contracts, are vital to ensuring the government serves its citizens fairly.

Additionally, the U.S. has extended the ineligibility for entry to Correa’s family, including his spouse, Anne Malherbe Gosselin, and his adult children Sofia, Anne Dominique, and Rafael Miguel Correa. Glas’ spouse, Cinthia Diaz Aveiga, and his adult son, Jorge Glas Diaz, have also been designated ineligible for entry into the United States.

This move reaffirms the U.S. government’s commitment to combatting corruption worldwide, including corruption at the highest levels of government.

Correa served as President of Ecuador from 2007 to 2017. The leader of the PAIS Alliance political movement from its foundation until 2017, Correa is a democratic socialist and his administration focused on the implementation of left-wing policies. Internationally, he served as president pro tempore of the UNASUR. Since 2017, he has been living in exile in Belgium.

Glas served as Vice President of Ecuador from May 2013 to December 2017. Then Ecuadorian president Lenín Moreno suspended Glas of his official duties as vice president on August 3, 2017. In December 2017, Glas was sentenced to six years imprisonment by a Criminal Tribunal of the National Court of Justice, for receiving over $13.5 million in bribes in the Odebrecht scandal. In April 2024 during a raid on the Mexican embassy by Ecuadorian police, Glas was arrested and held in prison resulting in Mexico severing relations with Ecuador. On April 9, 2024, prison authorities said that Glas had been hospitalized in the Guayaquil naval hospital after not eating for 24 hours, adding that his condition was stable.