Car bomb kills one in Guayaquil
Wednesday, October 15th 2025 – 20:14 UTC
Reimberg labeled the incident a terrorist act
A car bomb explosion outside a shopping mall in Guayaquil, Ecuador, on Tuesday resulted in at least one person dead and two injured. The fatality was reported to be a local taxi driver. The explosion at around 6 pm local time caused damage to nearby vehicles and buildings.
Authorities, including the Fire Department and the Municipal Public Company for Risk Management, immediately deployed security, emergency, and traffic control units to the scene, just outside the Mall del Sol shopping center in northern Guayaquil.
Ecuador’s Interior Minister John Reimberg confirmed that there were two vehicles involved; the first detonated, but the second contained an explosive device that did not go off and was promptly neutralized by the police bomb squad.
Reimberg labeled the incident a terrorist act and stated that the device was professionally manufactured by criminal groups aiming to cause chaos in the country.
In light of what happened in Guayaquil, the National Police is working around the clock to counter the threat and find those responsible for this terrorist act, Reimberg said on X.
The incident occurred amid an escalation of violence in Guayaquil (the capital of Guayas province), which has been under a state of emergency since August.
The country has been dealing with an internal armed conflict since January 2024, declared by President Daniel Noboa against 22 criminal gangs classified as terrorist organizations.
