The detonation of explosive devices on two bridges in Ecuador early on Wednesday (15 October) was retaliation for a major military operation against illegal miners, the country's interior minister said.
Interior Minister John Reimberg indicated that authorities suspected the criminal group Los Lobos, recently designated a terrorist organisation by Washington, was responsible.
"The line we are pursuing is one of retaliation for what we have been doing in Imbabura (province), in terms of controlling the strike and cracking down on illegal mining," Reimberg told a press briefing in the northern city of Otavalo.
No injuries were reported and no arrests have been made. Infrastructure Minister Roberto Luque suggested the attacks were intended to disrupt traffic.
One explosion damaged the base of a bridge in the province of Guayas, while another device only partially detonated in the province of Azuay.
The bridge explosions occurred just hours after a car bomb went off outside a shopping mall in Guayaquil, Ecuador's largest city, late on Tuesday, leaving one dead and several injured.
Ecuador's military and air force on Monday destroyed several illegal mine entrances, which the army said were operated by organized crime groups seeking to protect a key income source.
Seven people were arrested in the military operation. Reimberg said some of those arrested belonged to the dissident Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) group.
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Trade between Colombia and Ecuador has fallen sharply after new tariffs were imposed, with business groups warning of mounting damage to the cross-border economy.
Colombia’s commerce minister, Diana Marcela Morales, has said she will propose raising tariffs on certain Ecuadorian goods from 30% to 50%, as a trade dispute between the neighbouring countries intensifies.
Some tariffs on foods and other imports from Argentina, Ecuador, Guatemala, and El Salvador will be removed under framework agreements that give U.S. firms greater market access, the United States said on Thursday.
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa’s vehicle was attacked on Tuesday as his convoy travelled through Cañar province, where protesters demonstrating against the government’s decision to lift fuel subsidies threw rocks and other objects at his car.
Counting is underway in Armenia's elections. The results of the vote are set to determine the political direction of the country of three million people for the next few years. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is hoping to fend off challenges from several pro-Russia candidates to secure a third term.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's party is on course for victory, with Armenian media reporting that the country's Central Election Commission has completed the vote count in the parliamentary elections. An official announcement is still expected.
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A French Rafale fighter jet shot down a drone that entered Latvian airspace from Russia on Monday (8 June), triggering security alerts and renewing concerns about the impact of the war in Ukraine on NATO's eastern flank.
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Pyongyang on Monday (8 June) for a rare summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, receiving a grand welcome as he described relations between the two countries as being at a "new historical starting point".
Football fans of all ages gathered in Miami Beach for a World Cup sticker trading event, exchanging duplicates and comparing Panini albums as they prepared for the tournament's opening match.
A city north of Tokyo has suspended classes at all 94 of its primary and middle schools after its first-ever reported bear sighting, amid growing concern over increasing encounters between bears and people across Japan.
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