Attack in Ecuador: State of emergency declared in Guayaquil after explosion kills 5 

The president of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso, declared on Sunday a state of emergency in the city of Guayaquil after a bomb attack. 

Authorities attributed the incident to groups linked to drug trafficking. At least five were killed during the explosion, 17 were wounded, and several houses were destroyed. 

"I have declared a state of emergency in the city of Guayaquil due to the criminal events of the last hours. All public forces will be available to reestablish control of the city," Lasso posted on his Twitter account.

"We will not allow organized crime to try to run the country," added the Ecuadorian president, who took office a year ago.

He declarado en 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 restablecer el control de la ciudad. No permitiremos que el crimen organizado pretenda manejar al país.

— Guillermo Lasso (@LassoGuillermo) August 14, 2022

The state of emergency in the coastal city of Guayaquil will be in force starting Sunday and will last for 30 days, Diego Ordóñez, national secretary of Public and State Security, said during a press conference.

"Those who intend to generate chaos in the city by way of terrorist acts will be punished," he added.

A state of emergency implies the formation of a special force composed of police and military personnel, in addition to the mobilization of material resources.

Interior Minister Patricio Carrillo described the explosion on early Sunday morning as a "declaration of war in the State." The homemade explosives were made with "extremely lethal" chemicals. 

The explosion generated a hole 1.6 meters in diameter, 36 to 40 centimeters deep, and a shock wave that reached 60 to 70 meters, explained Interior Minister Patricio Carrillo.

The detonation caused the death of two women and one man at the scene of the incident, while two other people died in hospitals from their wounds.

The minister said the attacks were directed against individuals known by the aliases of "Cucaracha" and "Junior," who are allegedly related to the so-called "Tiguerones" gang, which is linked to drug trafficking and the massacres that have occurred in the last two years in several Ecuadorian prisons.

Carrillo explained that there have been 58 other events of "minor terrorism" in Guayaquil.

Ecuador, the peaceful neighbor of the world’s largest drug producers Colombia and Peru, has become a disputed territory for multiple mafia organizations operating with Mexican cartels. At least 26 gangs or small armies are fighting for control of the business, reported Perfil.

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime ranked Ecuador as the country with the third highest cocaine seizures in 2020, after Colombia and the United States.

🇪🇨 | URGENTE: 5 muertos y al menos 7 heridos es el saldo de una explosión en Guayaquil que también destruyó varias casas.

Se presume atentado de "vacunadores" ante la negativa de "colaborar" de una de las víctimas. pic.twitter.com/UAX9FrKeYE

— Alerta Mundial (@AIertaMundiaI) August 14, 2022