0
A car bomb exploded on Tuesday night (14/10) in a commercial street in the city of Guayaquil, leaving at least one dead and two injured. According to local authorities, the victim was a taxi driver who was passing by at the time of the detonation.
The governor of the province of Guayas, Humberto Plaza, classified the episode as a “simple and direct act of terrorism”. The explosion destroyed part of the area’s stores and restaurants and forced firefighters to evacuate the block.
Anti-explosive teams carried out a controlled detonation of another suspect vehicle nearby. “The artifacts were professionally manufactured by criminal groups, with the aim of sowing chaos,” Interior Minister John Reimberg wrote on social media.
The event took place in an area with many restaurants, offices, shops, clinics and even hospitals and hotels, being considered the largest commercial center in the city.
Also read
The Attorney General’s Office opened an investigation to identify those responsible for the explosion and is analyzing images from security cameras. The police do not rule out links to criminal groups vying for control of the country.
Ecuador is experiencing an unprecedented escalation of violence, marked by clashes, mass escapes and assassinations of politicians.
In January, the government decreed a state of exception and internal armed conflict following the escape of criminal leader Adolfo “Fito” Macías, from the Los Choneros group, and a wave of coordinated attacks that included kidnappings and explosions in several cities.
Since then, the Armed Forces have started to operate on the streets and in prisons dominated by factions, but episodes of violence continue. Guayaquil, the country’s largest city and main port, has become the epicenter of the security crisis.
