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Ex-Ecuador VP to get IV fluids after weeks on hunger strike

November 7, 2018 GMT

FILE - In this Sept. 12, 2017 file photo, Ecuador's Vice President Jorge Glas speaks during an interview at his office, in Quito, Ecuador. Glas, who was convicted in Latin America's biggest graft scandal, has reportedly been rushed to a hospital on Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018, after spending over two weeks on a hunger strike. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa, File)

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Medical workers were evaluating a former Ecuadorian vice president convicted in Latin America’s biggest graft scandal following a health scare after more than two weeks on a hunger strike, authorities said late Tuesday.

Ecuador’s government announced that Jorge Glas is stable but will be transported to a medical facility where he can receive intravenous fluids and electrolytes.

Former Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa stated earlier on Twitter that Glas’ health had declined.

Glas declared a hunger strike in October to protest his transfer to a high-security prison. A nonprofit human rights group that recently visited the ex-vice president noted that his health was deteriorating but that he’d refused hospitalization.

Glas was sentenced to six years in 2017 after his conviction on charges he orchestrated a plot to receive millions in bribes from Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht. He claims the charges against him amounted to a political persecution.