Government officials in Ecuador have blamed a deadly explosion in the port city of Guayaquil on organised crime. At least five people were killed and 26 more injured in the blast on Sunday. Ecuador’s interior minister said it was a “declaration of war” by criminal gangs against the government. The Andean country, which is used as a cocaine smuggling route from neighbouring Peru and Colombia, has seen a sharp rise in murders and gang-related crime recently. A state of emergency has been declared in Guayaquil, Ecuador’s most populous city and an important trade hub. It is the fourth emergency to be declared in Ecuador since October because of gang violence.

Eight houses and two cars were destroyed in the early morning blast, according to the National Risk and Emergency Management Service. Pictures from the scene show the front of houses ripped off and cars smeared in blood with their windows blown in. At a news conference late on Sunday, officials said the attack was directed at two men who go under the aliases of Cucaracha and Junior and are linked to Los Tiguerones, one of the leading crime gangs in Ecuador.(BBC)…[+]