Three Ecuadorian Journalists Receive Letter Bombs

On Monday, the Attorney General's Office began an investigation into the attack suffered by Ecuavisa TV journalist Lenin Artieda, who received a flash drive that exploded when he tried to use it.

RELATED:

Ecuador in a State of Exception Due to Earthquake

This explosive device arrived at the Ecuavisa facilities in Guayaquil city in a mail package addressed to Artieda, who has minor injuries to his hand and face.

On Monday, the National Police anti-bomb squad also went to TC Television channel, where another explosive device was detected but did not explode.

"Fortunately, our systems protocol prohibits entering pendrives into our computers. The letter bomb was intended for Mauricio Ayora," journalist Rafael Cuesta said.

The anti-bomb squad detonated this device in a controlled manner. Therefore, there were no injuries or material damage to the TC television facilities.

A third explosive device would have reached the Teleamazonas channel, according to journalist Dayanna Monroy. This letter bomb did not cause damage as it was detected in time.

"We are concerned about what happened and the security situation in the entire province of Guayas," Governor Francisco Tabacchi said, adding that the Ecuavisa's letter bomb had arrived four days ago.

"Any attempt to intimidate journalism and press freedom are reprehensible acts that must be punished," the Presidential Secretary said in a statement.