The face of Nayeli Barrios Montaño, 21, reflects sadness when she remembers the attack with explosives in the Tenth between I and H, the Cristo del Consuelo sector, in the southwest of Guayaquil. During that attack her mother, Roxana Montaño Medina, died along with four other people and at least twenty neighbors were injured.
It was an unprecedented event, which occurred at dawn on August 14, 2022. According to the Police, two men on a motorcycle threw a sack near a dining room shortly before 03:00 and minutes after that action the explosion occurred.
The government attributed the attack to organized crime linked to drug trafficking. “It is a declaration of war on the State. Either we unite to face it or the price will be even higher for society”, reacted the then Minister of the Interior, Patricio Carrillo.
Terror in Cristo del Consuelo: large-scale explosion causes deaths and affected houses
Shortly after the fact, the former official indicated that the attack was directed at a resident identified as an alias Cockroach, owner of one of the properties that hosted clandestine parties, but the family of the latter rejected that statement and stressed that the man has no criminal record as Carrillo had said.
Known as Calle 8, the area where the attack was perpetrated was characterized by crowded clandestine parties that housed several houses. The celebrations began at night and lasted until the morning of the next day, without much control.
The day of the attack Nayeli Barrios Montaño was not at home, she had gone out and they called her to give her the tragic news that her mother, who was 37 years old, had died.
How did you find out about the event?
They called me, but they told me that it was (attack) from another side. When I came I saw my mom lying on the street, she was already dead.
How has your life changed since then?
(Eyes fill with tears) I have no words to describe. Now I myself work in the Cuatro Manzanas (market) selling those Christmas things, but the work is over right now (…). I even dropped out of school, and this year I graduated.
After the attack, delegates from different ministries were here. What help have they received?
They did give them to the others, but they didn’t give me anything. The MIES (Ministry of Economic and Social Inclusion) collected information, but that was left there.
What is your expectation now in this new scenario?
Now I have to support my girl. I would like to finish high school, but more than that I would like a job and be able to study at night even if it is.
The traces of criminal violence in the Cristo del Consuelo are indelible for the young woman whose mother, who worked as a domestic employee, was the only support.
They are also for Erlinda Arroyo, who lost her right eye, while her husband was left blind. Júnior Arroyo suffered a mutilated right leg on the day of the attack.
There was also structural damage to eleven houses in the sector and two cars. Although at first the Municipality of Guayaquil announced that it would seek the donation of construction kits for the repair of the houses, that was not fulfilled, say neighbors.
However, one family, the Bohórquez Guerrero family, did receive a house in the Valle Esperanza municipal housing plan, in the Monte Sinaí sector, in the northwest.
For several days, the council arranged brigades on the site to provide medical, psychological and other types of assistance.
Due to the management of a candidate for the Guayaquil Mayor’s Office, the residents received donated materials and with this they were able to repair the houses, a task that was only completed in mid-December.
Although the building where Nayeli Barrios lives with her 3-year-old daughter and her grandmother is part of the structures that were improved, she says that life will never be the same again.
She abandoned her studies to work in the Various Items market, better known as the Four Apples, as a seller of Christmas products.
She leaves her daughter in a nursery, since her grandmother, Mónica Medina, is not in a position to support her with the care of the minor. She pays $10 a month from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., but since she works until 9:00 p.m., a family member is in charge of picking up the little girl and keeping her until that time.
The Ministry of Economic and Social Inclusion (MIES) executed a contingency and support plan for affected families in Cristo del Consuelo, which began with the collection of information and psychological support.
Those affected received a single payment of $265.33, equivalent to 50% of the vital family basket in force to date, but in the sector there are those who say they have not been benefited.
A little less than three months after the attack on the well-known 8th street, new bomb attacks were unleashed in Guayaquil and other towns in the country, a situation that led the Executive to declare a state of emergency in Guayas, Esmeraldas and Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas, the November 1, for a period of 45 days. Never before had the city been submerged in a serial attack, which caused capsizing that day.
The situation arose after the announcement of the change of prisoners from the Litoral Penitentiary to other prisons. Eight police officers were killed and twenty were injured during violent days that began at dawn on November 1 and continued for several days.
Until 06:00 on the first day of November in the city of Buenos Aires, a dozen attacks were registered. Among them, the murder of Corporals Eduardo Contreras and Estalyn Chunata when they were in a patrol car on 17th and Cuenca streets, southwest of Guayaquil.
A car bomb exploded in the urban bus area of the Pascuales satellite terrestrial terminal, in an unprecedented attack on a space with a crowd of people. Although there were no injuries or fatalities, the operation of said station was suspended for a few hours.
Gas stations located on the perimeter road were also attacked by criminals, but the main target of the attacks with explosives and bullets were the Community Police (UPC) units.
As a strategy, some of these venues were closed and the uniformed officers of the circuit occupied others where barricades were installed and other protection measures were implemented.
In the most conflictive districts of Zone 8 (Guayaquil, Durán and Samborondón) such as Nueva Prosperina, Pascuales, Los Esteros and Durán, 200 long weapons (carbines and 2.23 rifles) were delivered to the police for the control of the preventive axis.
In these jurisdictions, the number of uniformed officers per patrolman should have been increased. Before, there were two agents in each unit, but after the attacks, four policemen went in each patrol car accompanied by motorcycles to avoid being ambushed.
After Guayas, Esmeraldas was the second province to suffer the consequences of criminal violence. There were incidents in jail; it transpired that prison officers had been taken hostage.
In different sectors of the city of Esmeraldas there was an explosion of car bombs and other devices. And that scenario was repeated progressively for several days in different provinces of the country.
The Minister of the Interior, Juan Zapata, pointed out at the time that the attacks occurred in response to a plan that the National Comprehensive Care Service for Adults Deprived of Liberty and Adolescent Offenders (SNAI) had with the relocation of prisoners in the Guayaquil jail.
Pamphlets attributed to criminal gangs warned of attacks if inmates were transferred from the Penitentiary. The attacks would be related to the criminal groups Los Lobos and Los Tiguerones, according to flyers that were scattered in the Main Port.
Photo: SNAI
Despite the violence unleashed, the Government remained firm in the transfer of prisoners within a reorganization process. Some 2,500 inmates from the Litoral Penitentiary were transferred between the Zonal 8 Prison Center (Regional) and the El Rodeo prison, in Portoviejo, Manabí.
“What we want is control of prisons, but above all to clean up improper things that are there,” Minister Juan Zapata said on November 9 in an interview with this newspaper.
What results did the state of exception leave?
At the end of the established regime, Minister Zapata indicated that during the state of emergency in the three provinces, 158 people related to criminal organizations that operate from prisons were arrested, who would have carried out the attacks to prevent the transfer of their leaders to La Roca, the maximum security prison where they are now held incommunicado.
Violent deaths decreased 1% in Zone 8 during the state of emergency
Among those apprehended are members of gangs such as Los Tiguerones, Latin Kings, Águilas, Lobos, Chone Killer, Lagartos, Los Choneros. Of the total number of detainees, until the fortnight of December there were 113 people in preventive detention, 40 with alternative measures and 5 were released.
A different effect brought with it the state of exception in the three provinces in which it was established. In Zone 8 of Guayas, for example, violent deaths fell by 1% (203 crimes occurred from November 1 to December 14 compared to 205 before the measure).
In Esmeraldas, intentional homicides were reduced by 27% (from 73 cases they dropped to 53), while in Santo Domingo the reduction in murders was 50% (from 29 to 14).
What actions are expected to counteract crime in 2023?
Carlos Sevillano Paez, security expert national and political sciences, considers that although the state of exception left favorable results in the containment of crimes, this is only temporary, for which actions are required to strengthen the administration system, for example.
“The country’s justice system must have faceless judges who allow criminals to be judged, convicted, and imprisoned; in the case of foreigners expel them from Ecuadorian territory without the right of return. Better technological and financial resources must be assigned to allow the optimization of human resources and, above all, the accompaniment and integral support of the central government towards the judges during and after ruling on criminals ”, he emphasizes.
He believes that the law should actually penalize, imprison and punish the offender so as not to waste the comprehensive resources and investigative and operational work of law enforcement. “The principle of applying the law to criminals should be ‘your rights end when you infringe mine,’” he stresses.
Finally, Sevillano mentions that to prevent criminal organizations from recruiting adolescents and young people to turn them into hitmen or micro-traffickers, it is necessary to implement technical-professional education at the national level for no more than nine months. This, he adds, will have an impact mainly on disadvantaged sectors. (YO)
Source: Eluniverso
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
