Guillermo Lasso declares state of emergency in Guayaquil after terrorist attack

First modification: 08/15/2022 – 04:05

At least five dead, 16 injured and several missing after registering a bomb explosion in the Cristo del Consuelo neighborhood in Guayaquil, southwestern Ecuador. Initially, a series of shots were recorded, which ended with the deflagration, according to the authorities.

With the state of emergency declared by President Guillermo Lasso, a Joint Task Force between the Police and the Armed Forces will be formed. The first investigations suggest that the attack was directed at the leader of a gang, known as alias “Cucaracha”.

The National Risk and Emergency Management Service of Ecuador (SNGRE) assured that eight houses were destroyed as well as two vehicles. Similarly, they reported that rescue personnel from the fire department have been working on the removal of debris of “large proportions.”

The Ecuadorian Prosecutor’s Office said that the investigation has already begun and that it is gathering evidence to establish the cause of the explosion on Sunday morning.

Authorities are seeking information to find those responsible for the attack.

The Ecuadorian government offered a reward of 10,000 dollars for information that allows clarifying the events that occurred in the neighborhood located south of Guayaquil. The Government Ministry issued a statement in which it described the explosion as an “act of terrorism” and assured that it will identify and punish those responsible for the attack.

“On behalf of the National Government and my own, we extend our deepest condolences to the families of the victims of this act of terrorism. We cannot return the lives of those who died, but we will identify those guilty of this crime and everything will fall on them.” the weight of the law,” said Francisco Jiménez, representative of the Ministry of Government.

During the last months, the coastal city of Guayaquil has been strongly affected by constant acts of violence in its streets by members of rival gangs linked to drug trafficking.

Interior Minister Patricio Carrillo declared that the explosion “is a declaration of war against the State. Either we unite to face it or the price will be even higher for society, ”he wrote through his Twitter account.

For his part, the lawyer and activist from Guayaquil, Pedro Granja, expressed his concern about the situation in the port city and compared it to the insecurity that affected the Colombian city of Medellin during the time of drug trafficker Pablo Escobar.

“It is not the Medellin of Pablo Escobar. It is the Cristo del Consuelo in Guayaquil. Terrorists planted a bomb at dawn,” Granja said through his Twitter account.

The capital of the province of Guayas, is one of the most populated cities in Ecuador and a strategic point of the country’s foreign trade, which has become the target of a wave of violence and crimes of hired assassins.

In addition, Ecuador is experiencing a difficult crisis in its prisons due to the dispute between armed groups seeking to take control of the prisons, which have already left more than 400 inmates murdered in the last two years.

With AP and local media