A car bomb, apparently loaded with two gas cylinders and blocks of dynamite, caused at least four explosions on Wednesday night in a commercial area of Quito, in an event that raises concern about the climate of violence that exists in Ecuador.
Although the National Police of Ecuador initially stated that it was a fire in a vehicle, General Pablo Ramírez later explained to journalists that the event turned out to be an alleged attack due to the explosive elements it contained, the detonation of which caused no casualties. .
Ramírez reported that the Police detained six people, including five Ecuadorians and one Colombian, for their alleged involvement with this car bomb, some of them with a history of robbery, extortion and murder.
The general pointed out that both the car that exploded and the vehicle in which the six detainees were traveling had been reported stolen.
Likewise, he attributed this action as a response by organized crime to a series of transfers of prisoners carried out this Wednesday.
The Municipality of Quito, in a message on social networks, indicated that “the incident is currently being investigated by specialized Police units” and that “the Explosives team of the Intervention and Rescue Group is on the site. (GIR), who must determine the circumstances of the explosion, and whether or not there was a detonator.”
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According to images from the site, next to the charred car there is a cylinder that, according to neighbors, could be from a gas cylinder. Under this modality, several car bombs that exploded in the port city of Guayaquil were registered last year, precedents that made the inhabitants of the area think that it could be a similar attack, now in the capital Quito.
People close to the investigation opined that it could be an attack by one of the criminal gangs operating in the country. An unofficial source indicated that the event could probably be related to the transfer from prison of a criminal leader known as ‘Gordo Luis’ to the maximum security prison La Roca (maximum security), located near the city of Guayaquil.
The subject was captured on July 6 in Colombia by that country’s authorities and handed over to his Ecuadorian counterparts, who place him as the leader of the ‘Los Lobos’ gang, with ties to the New Generation cartel allied to that of Jalisco (Mexico).
The source noted that the headquarters of the National Comprehensive Care Service (SNAI) for Persons Deprived of Liberty, the state department in charge of control and custody of Ecuador’s prisons, previously operated in the place where the car exploded.
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‼️#URGENT
The car that exploded tonight in #Quito, if it was an attack. This was announced by General Pablo Ramírez, Director of Intelligence of the @policeecuador. He confirmed that there are 6 detainees for this act and that they will continue with the corresponding investigations. pic.twitter.com/aazbGtryEI– Ecuadorimmediate (@ecuainm_oficial) August 31, 2023
The event occurred a few hours after the Police reported on the results of a search carried out this Wednesday in the Latacunga prison, in the Andean province of Cotopaxi, within the framework of intervention operations in prisons for the control of weapons and explosives.
More than 2,200 police and military officers participated in the search of said prison, where they found bladed weapons, alcohol and electronic equipment.among other objects prohibited in prisons.
The military and police intervention in the Cotopaxi prison caused prison riots in the cities of Cuenca and Azogues, the provincial capitals of Azuay and Cañar.
In the Cuenca prison, the prisoners detained a group of prison guards, as confirmed by the SNAI, although it did not detail the number of officials detained. These three prisons (Latacunga, Cuenca and Azogues) are allegedly controlled by the criminal gang ‘Los Lobos’.
EFE
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