A spike in violence rattles Ecuador as nightclub arson kills 2 and false bomb sparks evacuation

QUITO (AP) — A fake bomb threat rattled the capital of Ecuador on Thursday, sparking the mobilization of an anti-explosives unit to a bustling area, while authorities in a city west of Quito responded to a nightclub arson that killed two people as the South American country staggers under a spike in violence.

Police said they were forced to evacuate people from Playón de la Marín, located near a public transport station, after being alerted to a backpack with an alleged explosive placed in a garbage can.

On Wednesday, at least five similar events happened in various areas of Quito, with explosives placed in at least two vehicles, at a pedestrian bridge and near a prison. The explosions caused minor damage, with no one killed or injured.

Meanwhile, authorities told reporters that unknown suspects set fire to a nightclub in the Amazon city of Coca, which left nine injured. The blaze also spread to 11 nearby stores, officials said.

The investigation is ongoing.

The latest violent incidents come after President Daniel Noboa declared a national state of emergency on Monday, warning that the Andean country is mired in an internal armed conflict that he blamed on organized crime groups and drug trafficking.

Ecuadoreans worry that violence will only escalate in a country where a presidential candidate was assassinated last year.

On Sunday, the leader of one of the country’s most powerful drug gangs vanished from prison. Since then, police officers have been kidnapped and at least 125 corrections personnel held hostage inside prisons.

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