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This form of violence is unprecedented in Ecuador, an Andean country where President Guillermo Lasso has prompted a governance crisis that will lead him to impeachment.
On Wednesday night, an Ecuadorian private security guard was kidnapped by criminals who released him the next day with explosives attached to his body in the Sauces 9 neighborhood in Guayaquil City.
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By turning this young man into a human bomb, the criminals wanted to send a message to the owners of a jewelry store where he works because they had refused to pay the gangsters a protection fee popularly known as "vaccine."
The drama of this Ecuadorian citizen was made public when the people of Guayaquil began to post images and videos, which showed the victim standing nervously pacing the sidewalk and waiting for someone to help him.
The incident was reported at 07:45 am to the ECU-911 system from which the National Police's anti-bomb squad was alerted. After 3 hours of work, the police managed to deactivate the explosive device, which contained 14 blocks of dynamite, according to local media
�� #Ecuador es un país dominado por el terrorismo.
— Libre Pensador (@No_Mordaza20) March 30, 2023
Los moradores susurran “por no pagar la vacuna, le amarraron explosivos”.
En Guayaquil al administrador de una joyería le implantaron dinamita en el cuerpo de un ciudadano en Sauces 9.#Guayakill pic.twitter.com/JFGgmVOy84
The tweet reads, "Ecuador is a country dominated by terrorism. 'They strapped explosives on him because they didn't pay the bribe,' the villagers whisper. In Guayaquil, at Sauces 9, they put dynamite around the body of a citizen."
"I'm not the only one who wants to leave this country immediately!!! The problem is that we cannot take our whole family with us due to excessive red tape," Monica tweeted over what was happening in Guayaquil.
This young woman was referring to the endless difficulties in getting a passport during the Lasso administration, in which the waiting times for any process can last weeks or months.
"I love my country but I feel more and more sorry for the way they are treating it," added this citizen, who describes herself as a businesswoman.
"Ecuador, a country in chaos and disorder! Thank you, Mr. Lasso, you took us back to the 1990s!," commented the digital medium ZoomEC ironically, adding that illegal brokers in Guayaquil "ask for up to US$300 in bribes to grant a passport immediately.
#FromTheSouth News Bits | Ecuador: President Guillermo Lasso will go to impeachment for alleged embezzlement. pic.twitter.com/fOhOvrMndb
— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) March 30, 2023
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