QUITO, July 1, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - An Ecuadoran court on Monday handed former vice-president Jorge Glas a 13-year sentence for corruption, following his arrest in a dramatic raid last year on the Mexican embassy where he had been given asylum.

Glas, 55, served as vice president of the South American country under former socialist leader Rafael Correa from 2013 to 2017 and also briefly served as vice-president under Correa's successor Lenin Moreno.

The latest decision marks his fourth conviction since 2017.

He has yet to complete his cumulative eight-year sentence on two prior corruption cases, one relating to millions of dollars in bribes he took from Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht.

His former boss Correa, who lives in self-imposed exile in Belgium, was sentenced in absentia to eight years in prison, for taking bribes.

Both men deny the charges.

The latest case against Glas revolved around the reconstruction work carried out after a devastating earthquake in Ecuador's coastal provinces of Manabi and Esmeraldas in 2016, which left nearly 700 people dead.

The Supreme Court in Quito ruled that Glas did not use the millions of dollars collected from Ecuadorans towards the reconstruction for that purpose.

Some of the money was used to build a bridge in a remote area far from the disaster zone.

During his trial Glas declared himself a "politically persecuted person," insisting he had no access to the earthquake reconstruction fund and did not manage contracts awarded by the reconstruction committee.

His co-accused, former government technical secretary Carlos Bernal was also given the maximum 13-year sentence for embezzlement and the pair were fined a combined $250 million.

Glas was jailed for corruption in 2017 but was released from prison in 2022 after challenging his detention.

His release was later revoked but in December 2023, before the courts could issue an order for his rearrest, he sought refuge in the Mexican embassy in Quito, which granted him asylum.

In April 2024, Ecuadoran police stormed the embassy to apprehend him, sparking a major fallout between Ecuador and Mexico.

Mexico broke off ties with Quito over the incident.

The staunchly anti-American Correa's rule was marked by major increases in social welfare and large infrastructure projects but also, in later years, by allegations of corruption.

The United States last year banned both Correa and Glas from its territory over what the State Department called their involvement in "significant corruption."