In the city of Guayaquil, Ecuador, five people were killed and 17 were injured following yet another display of violence from rival gangs fighting for cocaine-trafficking dominance in the city. The incident occurred on the 14th August. Witnesses reported that men arrived on motorcycles and threw a bag filled with explosives onto the street in the Cristo Del Consuelo neighbourhood at around 3am. Three victims died at the scene. One was a woman stood on her balcony when the explosions started. The owner of a local canteen and a taxi driver were also killed, while the other two victims died later in the Abel Gilbert Pontón hospital. Damage was also caused to nearby property, with eight homes and two cars being destroyed. The Ecuadorian government has classified the explosion as a terrorist attack. 

Following the attack, Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso declared a state of emergency in Guayaquil, allowing for the immediate mobilization of multiple law enforcement agencies, including those dealing with criminal investigations, organized-crime fighting, weapons and explosives, and transnational crimes. The state of emergency will last for 30 days and will permit these agencies to disrupt meetings in public spaces and to carry out inspections and searches at citizens’ homes. Since the state of emergency was announced on the 15th of August, 11 raids and five arrests have been carried out. This is the fourth state of emergency that has been introduced in Guayaquil.  

On Wednesday 17th, police reported that a suspect had been arrested in relation to the attack. Speaking on the arrest, Ecuador’s interior minister, Patricio Carrillo stated the suspect “admitted to being involved in the terrorist attack” and had “a history of murder and robbery”. The minister added that the blast was “a declaration of war against the state” by criminal gangs.  Carrillo also stated that the government is concerned about the capacity these gangs have to build homemade explosives, adding “we are investigating how they are reaching these capabilities to commit barbaric acts”. President Lasso simply stated “We will not allow organized crime to try to run the country.”

These explosions are not new to the city: of the 145 explosive-related attacks that have happened in Ecuador this year, 72 have taken place in Guayaquil. Gangs in Guayaquil are increasingly using violent tactics in the battle for dominance of cocaine-trafficking routes. Ecuador sits between Colombia and Peru (the two top cocaine producing states in the world) and has become a prevalent smuggling route for Europe and the US. Over a third of Colombia’s production now passes into Ecuador. The city is of particular significance for criminal gangs as it is home to the country’s largest port, making it a major hub for trafficking and drug flow from Colombia and Peru. 

A state of emergency is a legal government declaration made during times of national threat or disaster. It allows the government to assume exceptional powers, such as the establishment of curfews, evacuation of persons, search of private property without warrants, and travel bans. States of emergencies can be used by governments to abuse their power and suppress human rights. Due to the high likelihood of human rights abuses during a state of emergency, there are a number of non-derogable rights under international law. These are listed under Article 4 in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). They are the right to life, freedom from torture and slavery, and the right to humane treatment, freedom of thought, conscience, and religion. The Ecuadorian government must not abuse its additional powers during the next 30 days and must ensure the humane treatment of its citizens. The state must uphold the non-derogable rights listed in the ICCPR whilst bringing those responsible for this attack to justice, to protect its citizens from future gang related violence.