One of the five letter bombs sent to at least five journalists working in TV and radio stations in violence-hit Ecuador went off. However, no injury was reported.
The incident occurred on Monday. The prosecutor’s office has launched an investigation to find out the perpetrator and is determining whether this incident will be probed through the terrorist angle. However, they didn’t say why the journalists were specifically targeted.
Interior Minister Juan Zapata said that the explosive envelopes were sent from Quimsaloma town, in the coastal province of Los Rios. Of which, three were sent to the southwest port city of Guayaquil and two to the capital Quito, reports AFP news agency.
“The device is indeed the same in all five places,” Zapata told reporters.
In Guayaquil, journalist Lenin Artieda of the Ecuavisa private TV station received the envelope which had a pen drive. When he inserted it into his office computer, it exploded.
Another letter bomb sent to journalist Carlos Vera was timely intercepted by the police at a courier company in Guayaquil and did not reach its destination, Zapata said.
“There is an absolutely clear message to silence journalists,” the minister said.
Meanwhile, the government in its statement slammed the incident and said it “categorically rejects any form of violence perpetrated against journalists and media outlets.”
“Any attempt to intimidate journalism and freedom of expression is repugnant,” it added.
Sandwiched between Colombia and Peru—the world’s two largest cocaine producers—Ecuador has emerged to be the hub for the global drug trade in recent years.
Guayaquil is one of its most violent cities, with frequent clashes between criminal gangs disputing drug trafficking routes.
President Guillermo Lasso has declared war on gangs who control the drug trade from prisons engulfed by extreme violence and riots that have left more than 400 inmates dead since 2021.
(With inputs from agencies)
