A journalist with the regional and private television station TV Ecuavisa in the southwestern city of Guayaquil was the recipient of an envelope containing a USB key that exploded after being inserted into a computer, the channel said on its website.

He was superficially wounded in one hand and face, said criminal police chief Xavier Chango. The explosion, which occurred in the newsroom, caused no further injuries or property damage. According to him, the explosive used could be "RDX", "a military type explosive".

The envelope also contained a threatening letter.

The prosecutor's office said in a statement that a letter bomb containing "a USB key with the same characteristics" was also sent to public broadcasters TC Television in Guayaquil and Teleamazonas in the capital Quito.

Press freedom organisation Fundamedios stressed that "the same modus operandi was used" with nominative "letterheads".

Fundamedios sees the attacks as "a new escalation of violence against the press: worrying, unacceptable, violating freedom of expression and requiring immediate state intervention."

- Growing insecurity -

In a statement, the government, through its Secretariat for Communication (Segcom), expressed its solidarity, rejecting "categorically any type of violent acts" and "attempts to intimidate journalists and the media".

The Ecuadorian human rights watchdog said it was concerned about the attacks on the media "in a context of growing insecurity in Ecuador".

Last year in Ecuador, the national channel RTS was the target of shootings, and in 2020 an explosive device targeted the premises of the television channel Teleamazonas.

Plagued by drug trafficking, the port of Guayaquil, Ecuador's second city, is now one of the most violent areas in the country. Gangs and criminal groups, some of which are linked to Mexican cartels, compete for control of drug trafficking routes. Bomb attacks have targeted security forces there in recent months.

Located between Colombia and Peru, the world's largest producers of cocaine, Ecuador has grown from a mere transit country to a major distribution center to Europe and the United States.

Drug seizures continue to rise, and the rate of violent deaths has risen from 14 per 100,000 population in 2021 to 25 in 2022.

© 2023 AFP