(CNN Spanish) – The U.S. State Department announced Wednesday that it has banned former Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa and former Vice President Jorge Claus from entering the country, arguing that both engaged in “significant corruption” while in office.
The State Department said in a statement that Correa and Glass were ineligible to enter the United States because they were deemed to have “abused their positions” by accepting bribes, including political contributions, in exchange for favorable public works contracts.
“This designation reaffirms our commitment to fight global corruption, including at the highest levels of government,” the statement added.
Correa was president of Ecuador between 2007 and 2017. After his tenure, he established his residence in Belgium. The former president faces eight years in prison and an extradition request for bribery stemming from a 2012-2016 bribery case, though he has denied breaking the law and asserted the charges against him are political persecution.
Former President X made a news release in which he decried the US decision to ban entry into the country. “They include my family. “No right!”
Claw is being held in Ecuador. In April, police removed him from the Mexican embassy in Quito — where he had received political asylum — prompting the Mexican government to cut ties with the South American country. Ecuadorian officials say Glass is guilty of corruption and must face justice. The former official, who was vice president during Correa and Lenin Moreno's mandates, says he was politically persecuted.
Korea's wife, two daughters and a son are also included in the ban on entry into the country, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs. Also to Klaus' wife and son.
Art Brown, the US ambassador to Ecuador, said in his X report that “Correa and Klaus abused the positions of the Ecuadorian president and vice president by taking bribes”: “This action by the government of the United States makes it clear that no one, regardless of status, is exempt from compliance with the law.
“The U.S. sanctions system is a political tool,” Spanish legal expert Aitor Martinez, an international defense attorney for Correa and Glass, told CNN. He also said the move was a “unilateral decision” imposed by the US government with “political content”. He ruled out including Correa and Glass's relatives in the decision because he said they had no charges or convictions. “The position seeks to do harm,” he noted.
The lawyer considered the decision to be a way to influence Ecuador's elections and benefit the current government. He pointed out that the State Department did not take into account that Interpol had not issued arrest warrants for some of those convicted in the same case who had been declared “ineligible” to enter the United States.
