Overview

• One person was killed and at least two were injured when a vehicle exploded near Mall del Sol and the Noboa family’s Grupo Nobis offices in Guayaquil’s financial district.
• Interior Minister John Reimberg said a second nearby vehicle packed with explosives did not detonate and was neutralized, and police carried out controlled detonations while collecting evidence.
• The government and the Fiscalía characterized the incident as a terrorist act connected to organized criminal groups using professionally assembled explosive components.
• Police evacuated hotels, offices, restaurants, and other buildings, reported damage to nearby structures, and said dynamite cartridges were recovered during initial sweeps.
• The blast follows recent explosive incidents around Guayaquil’s prisons, underscoring rising gang violence during the government’s declared internal armed conflict.