Ecuador: Explosive attack kills at least five people in Guayaquil
Members of the security forces deployed in the area of the city of Guayaquil where an explosive attack killed at least five people, on August 14, 2022. via REUTERS - ECUADOR NATIONAL POLICE
Text by: RFI Follow
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A bomb attack in the city of Guayaquil on Sunday August 14 killed at least five people and injured 17.
Several homes and vehicles were destroyed in a town reeling from cartel violence.
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With our correspondent in Quito,
Éric Samson
If Ecuador has already experienced attacks against police barracks and armed forces, the first major attack directed against civilians shocked Guayaquil, a city accustomed to violence.
According to witnesses, subjects appeared at two o'clock in the morning, Sunday August 14, on a motorcycle in the popular sector of Cristo del Consuelo.
After firing several times, they threw a bag full of explosives that turned the street known as "Calle 8" into a war zone, filled with rubble, cut power cables and dust.
At least nine houses and apartments were destroyed, according to a still provisional official report.
Ecuadorian President
Guillermo Lasso
has declared a state of emergency in Guayaquil.
"
All public forces will be available to restore control of the city
," he tweeted, adding that his government would "
not allow organized crime to try to run the country
."
He declared in Estado de Excepción a la ciudad de Guayaquil debido a los sucesos delictivos dados en las últimas horas.
Se dispondrá de toda la fuerza pública para reestablisher el control de la ciudad.
No permitiremos que el crimen organizado pretenda manejar al país.
— Guillermo Lasso (@LassoGuillermo) August 14, 2022
► To read also: Ecuador is no longer spared from gang violence
The Minister of the Interior has offered a $10,000 reward for any information about the attack.
Patricio Carrillo did not hesitate to speak of a “
declaration of war
” against the state by “
mercenaries of organized crime
”.
The minister asked for more resources and called for national unity to fight against insecurity.
Ecuador's leading port and major drug export center, Guayaquil is a battleground between local criminal groups allied with Mexican cartels who have imported their methods.
Last February,
two corpses were hanged from a bridge in Duran
, at the entrance to the city.
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Ecuador
Guillermo Lasso