Ecuadorian president declares state of emergency in two provinces affected by bombings

The president of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso, declared a state of emergency in the provinces of Guayas (southwest) and Esmeraldas (north) after 12 bombings were registered during a day of violence that left two police officers dead and several police units damaged.

He added that the forces of law and order would intensify their operations to guarantee the security of citizens in both provinces, considered the most violent in Ecuador.

The measure was adopted after 12 bombings in both provinces on Monday night, October 31, and early Tuesday morning, November 1, which the government attributed to drug trafficking mafias, which Lasso has declared a frontal fight against in Ecuador.

The bombings targeted several community police units, and a patrol car was attacked by criminals with firearms, leaving two police officers dead.

Also, several vehicles near gas stations and in the parking lot of a land terminal exploded, leaving material damage, according to the police, who repudiated the attacks.

The Ecuadorian president added that he would travel to Guayaquil, the capital of the province of Guayas, to lead a Unified Command Post, which was set up to analyze the situation of violence in the country.

According to Lasso, the violence recorded in Guayaquil and Esmeraldas clearly shows the limits that transnational organized crime is willing to cross.

He mentioned that narco-criminality feels uncomfortable and manifests its discomfort with violence in reaction to the government’s actions to end the privileges and benefits of criminals in prisons, where the public force has seized weapons, ammunition, explosives, and illegal communication systems.

With information from Xinhua