Accusations Against Jorge Glas: A “False Positive”?

The inclusion of former Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge Glas in the investigation surrounding the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio has sparked considerable controversy. Sonia Vera, Glas’s legal representative, has vehemently denounced the move as a fabricated case, a “new assembly” orchestrated by the prosecution. Vera claims the accusations are based on unsubstantiated testimony from a lawyer linked to a judicial corruption scheme.

Vera argues that the Prosecutor’s Office is relying on a non-sworn statement made by Lenín Vedin Vimos Jácome (VVLJ), the lawyer of Fabricio Colón Pico, the leader of the criminal gang Los Lobos. Colón Pico is currently serving time for kidnapping and intimidating Attorney General Diana Salazar.According to Vera, VVLJ’s statement, given on April 4, 2024, alleges that Jorge Chonillo Mendoza (“Chonillo”), who was murdered shortly after, revealed a criminal network supposedly led by political figures.

There is neither a single material evidence to support that statement: there are no audios, nor messages, nor calls of calls, nor independent witnesses. Only the word of a sentenced who seeks judicial benefits and protection for his wife,also processed.

Vera insists that there is no concrete evidence to support VVLJ’s claims, such as audio recordings, messages, phone records, or independent witnesses. She characterizes the statement as merely the word of a convicted criminal seeking leniency and protection for his wife, who is also facing charges.

Million-Dollar Allegations and Key Figures

The testimony alleges that the assassination of Villavicencio was commissioned for a staggering one million dollars. The statement implicates several individuals, including entrepreneurs Xavier Jordán and Daniel Salcedo, as well as former assembly member Ronny Aleaga, who has previously faced corruption allegations. The testimony also names Glas and José Serrano, who served as Minister of the Interior during rafael Correa’s presidency (2007-2017).

Vera dismisses thes allegations as “another assembly under construction: the new false positive against Jorge Glas and other political leaders.” She criticizes the Prosecutor’s Office for accepting the testimony without independent verification,arguing that standard legal practice requires corroboration of statements from convicted criminals with verifiable evidence.

This story, without evidence or contrast, has been accepted by the Prosecutor’s Office as if it were a legitimate evidence, but any minimally serious standard requires that the statements of convicted criminals be corroborated with independent, material and verifiable evidence. None of that happened here.

Serrano’s Denial and Widows’ Doubts

José Serrano has publicly denied the allegations, stating that he has had no contact with Glas since 2017.He described the witness’s claims as “grotesque and unlikely” and accused authorities of attempting to fabricate a false narrative.

Adding another layer of complexity, Verónica Sarauz, Villavicencio’s widow, has also expressed skepticism about the official narrative.She recently labeled a protected witness as a “false positive” created by the Prosecutor’s Office to conceal the true masterminds behind her husband’s murder. Sarauz has even accused Attorney General Salazar of pressuring her to implicate former president Correa in the assassination, a claim the public Ministry has refuted as baseless and false.

The Broader Context: Political tensions and “Lawfare” Accusations

The Villavicencio assassination and its subsequent investigation are unfolding against a backdrop of intense political polarization in Ecuador. The correísmo movement, loyal to former President Rafael Correa, has consistently accused the Prosecutor general Diana Salazar of being part of a “lawfare” campaign targeting its leaders. Correa himself was sentenced to eight years in prison for bribery in 2020 and currently resides in Belgium under refugee status.

Currently, five individuals have been convicted as material authors of the crime, including a leader of the Los Lobos criminal gang. However, eight other individuals involved in the case died before the trial, including the seven Colombian hitmen who allegedly carried out the attack. The circumstances surrounding their deaths, especially the hanging of several hitmen in jail, remain unclear.

Glas, who has previously been prosecuted and convicted on corruption charges, is scheduled to testify in the Villavicencio case on May 21 from La Roca, a maximum-security prison where he has been held since April 2024. His imprisonment followed a controversial police raid on the Mexican Embassy in Quito, which led to a diplomatic rupture between Ecuador and Mexico. The incident has further fueled tensions and accusations of political persecution.