Ecuador Prosecutes 7 People Over Guayaquil Bombing - Prosecutor's Office

MEXICO CITY (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 05th November, 2022) Criminal charges have been brought against seven people, including a teenager, in Ecuador in a case concerning car explosions in the city of Guayaquil, where the reorganization of prisons triggered attacks on police earlier this week, the Ecuadorian Prosecutor General's Office said on Friday.

"The attorney general's office has prosecuted seven people, including a teenager, on suspicion of organized crime. The detainees allegedly participated in the car explosion during the November 1 violence in Guayaquil," the statement read.

The court has already ordered arrest for three of them, the prosecutor's office said.

Searches in the homes of seven suspects found a total of three firearms, 12 cell phones, drugs, ammunition of various calibers, more than $8,000 in cash, fuses, detonating capsules and an explosive substance called pentolite, the prosecutor's office added.

Ecuador's government started moving inmates between prisons in a major overhaul aimed at separating leaders from gangs, as deadly gang clashes in prisons frequented in recent years.

This prompted riots in prisons and attacks on police officers on the streets, which Interior Minister Juan Zapata called acts of terrorism.

At least 24 attacks on police precincts, cars and gas stations with the use of arms and explosive devices have occurred in various Ecuadorian cities since Tuesday. Five police officers were killed and eight others were wounded during the attacks. About 200 inmates from the country's most brutal prison in Guayaquil have already been transferred to other local penitentiaries.

On Wednesday, Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso canceled his visit to the United States to coordinate government and security forces responding to violence. He declared a state of emergency for 45 days in the provinces of Guayas and Esmeraldas.

Local media reported a series of bombing attacks on Thursday. Four car explosions took place in Guayaquil, one in Duran and another one in the province of Santo Domingo de los Tsachilas.