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Two bridges In Ecuador blasted by explosive Equipment on routes between the coast and the mountains early Wednesday. The country’s Interior Minister John Reimberg called it an act. vengeance Following a major military operation against illegal miners.
“The line we are pursuing is one of retaliation for what we are doing in Imbabura (province) in terms of controlling the strike and cracking down on illegal mining,” Reimberg said at a press briefing.
No arrest or injury has been reported yet. Reimberg said authorities were exploring the theory that a criminal group called “Los Lobos” was behind the attack. Washington designated the group a terrorist organization after meeting with Ecuador’s president last month.
One explosion damaged a portion of the bridge’s base, while the other only partially detonated it.
Infrastructure Minister Roberto Luque said on Twitter that he believed the explosive attacks were intended to disrupt traffic.
The blasts followed a major military and air force operation on Monday that destroyed several illegal mine entrances, which the military said were operated by organized crime groups in an attempt to impact one of the top sources of income.
Seven people were arrested in the operation. Reimberg said some of them were from the dissident Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) group.
diesel protest
Otavalo, where the operation took place in Imbabura province, has been the scene of a series of protests organized since late September by CONAIE, Ecuador’s largest indigenous organization, over the ending of diesel subsidies by decree of President Daniel Noboa.
Noboa said the subsidized diesel was being used in illegal mining and smuggling operations. The province has been isolated since the protests began, although the government has tried to open it up roads By sending aid convoy.
Clashes broke out between protesters and security forces in Otavalo on Tuesday. Indigenous groups reported that at least 50 people were injured, while the government said 13 military officers were injured by knives and firecrackers.
Wednesday’s blasts came just hours after a car bomb exploded outside a shopping mall in Ecuador’s largest city. Guayaquil Late Tuesday night, in which one person died and several others were injured.
A second vehicle filled with explosives was found nearby, but did not explode and was defused. Last week, Noboa was traveling in a convoy to a rural town when his car was attacked by people who threw stones. The government described it as an assassination attempt and arrested five people on terrorism charges. CONAIE condemned systematic police violence.
The five men were soon released after a judge ruled their detention illegal.
Noboa spoke at an event in Guayaquil on Wednesday, where he said criminal groups were trying to destabilize the government and prevent it from meeting the needs of Ecuadorians.
“We cannot back down in the face of mafias, people who want to terrorize Ecuadorian families,” he said.