Ecuador: Car Bombs Set Off in Series of Explosions in Capital, Quito

Quito, the capital city of Ecuador, has been rocked by a series of explosions caused by car bombs, and this may be related to the country's crackdowns inside prisons. These explosions reportedly happened overnight as four car bombs were set off. Nobody was reported injured by these car bomb explosions.

Two of the car bombs exploded within Quito, while the other two detonations happened in El Oro, a province that borders Peru.

These car bomb attacks happened just three weeks after the assassination of a presidential candidate. The assassination led to a crackdown inside prisons as the killing was attributed to a local drug gang with ties to Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel.

For the Quito car bombs, Ecuador National Police's Gen. Pablo Ramírez, who is the country's national director of anti-drug investigations, stated in a news conference that they were related to "several transfers of inmates" that happened earlier this week. However, no reason was given for a possible motive for the explosions in the border province of El Oro.

The first bomb went off in Quito last Wednesday night, near where an office of the country's corrections system was previously located. The second car bomb went off outside where the agency is currently located.

In these crime scenes, investigators found gas cylinders, fuel, fuses, and blocks of dynamite among the debris. The vehicle used in the first explosion was a small car, while the second vehicle used as a car bomb was a pickup truck. As for the El Oro explosions, gas tanks were used.

"There are violent actions like that of the two cars burned in Quito last night, clearly that's a reaction to an action. The action of imposing order in the prisons, the reaction to intimidate," President Guillermo Lasso said, condemning the attacks.

Ecuador Police Arrest 10 People After Car Bomb Explosions

Shortly after the explosions, Ecuador police went into action, leading to 10 people getting arrested. For the attack in Quito, six suspects were arrested, including five locals and one Colombian. The nationalities of those arrested in the second group were not given, according to Reuters.

Interior Minister Juan Zapata stated in a news conference that most of those arrested already have criminal records, including three people who were previously caught for a robbery two weeks ago. They were released by a judge shortly after.

Ecuador Car Bombs Highlight Country's Fragile Peace

It all started with the assassination of anti-corruption presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, who had been rallying against drug gangs in Ecuador. His death led to raids and an overhaul in the country's prison system, possibly leading to these car bomb attacks.

As Financial Times pointed out, there had been a recent rise in violence in Ecuador, especially with gang violence as drug gangs vie for drug trafficking routes to Mexico. During the first six months of 2023 alone, 3,500 homicides were reported in Ecuador. The murder rate is expected to exceed last year's, which was at 4,800 people murdered.

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Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Six arrested in Ecuador after two car bombs explode | Al Jazeera English