An employee of a pharmacy located just a few meters from a Community Police Unit that suffered a bomb attack in Quito, Ecuador, on Wednesday night (10) reported to CNN the shock and fear after the attack.
Natali Rodríguez, 28, said that the explosion happened around 9:30 pm local time, after a motorcyclist lit an explosive in front of the police unit.
“I left the pharmacy, didn’t even take two steps and boom. It was a huge scare, because it was very strong. There was no one here, the biker had all the time in the world to place the explosive,” Rodríguez told CNN.
The pharmacist also highlighted that “luckily, there were no people on the street, otherwise it would have been chaos”. According to her, the police arrived at the crime scene within 15 minutes.
A resident of the south zone of Quito, she said that stones and glass flew towards her.
Crisis in Ecuador
The wave of violence in Ecuador intensified after the leader of the criminal group Los Choneros escaped from a prison in Guayaquil, on Sunday (7). A day later, President Daniel Noboa declared a state of emergency in the country.
On Tuesday afternoon (9), a group of hooded and armed men invaded the facilities of the TC Televisión channel, in Guayaquil.
The crime was captured on live broadcast, which showed employees being forced to lie on the floor. It was possible to hear gunshots and screams. In an operation to free the employees, the police arrested 13 people and seized weapons and explosives.
Still on Tuesday night, President Daniel Noboa decreed the existence of an “internal armed conflict” in the country and ordered operations to be carried out by security forces to neutralize criminals.
In the text of the decree, the government also describes 22 organized crime groups as “terrorists and belligerent non-state actors”.
According to the Ecuadorian government, more than 170 prison guards and other employees are held hostage by inmates in at least five prisons in the country.
In addition, several attacks and explosions were recorded, and hundreds of people were detained.
Source: CNN Brasil
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