(MENAFN) A powerful car bomb detonated late Tuesday in Guayaquil’s bustling financial district, Ecuador’s largest city, killing at least one person and injuring two others, authorities confirmed.

The explosion struck around 6:30 p.m. local time near the headquarters of a company owned by President Daniel Noboa’s family and a major shopping center. The blast triggered widespread panic, shattering windows in nearby buildings and engulfing a pickup truck in flames, with bystanders quickly sharing footage of the fiery scene.

Interior Minister John Reimberg swiftly condemned the attack as a “terrorist act.” He revealed that police neutralized a second vehicle loaded with “a lot of explosives that did not detonate” nearby, following “controlled detonations” by the anti-explosive unit. Authorities are currently working to identify the explosive materials.

Reimberg emphasized on the social media platform X that the bomb was “not a handcrafted artifact. It is elements of professional elaboration by criminal groups that want to cause chaos in the country,” urging residents to avoid the police cordon while affirming that the National Police are “working permanently to counter the threat and deal with those responsible for this terrorist act.”

Guayas Governor Humberto Plaza, who visited the scene, warned the death toll could increase and promised swift justice. “What I can tell you is that those who perpetrated this murderous act, this act of terrorism, we are going to pursue them under every rock. We are going to hunt them down. We will find the den where they are hiding, we will capture them, and the full weight of the law will fall upon them,” Plaza told local media.

In response, the U.S. Consulate General in Guayaquil issued a security alert urging American citizens to “stay alert, avoid the area, and remain aware of your surroundings.”

This attack marks the second bomb explosion in Guayaquil within a month, following a similar blast near a regional police station in September. Authorities are probing possible links to recent government crackdowns on organized crime in the port city, a hotspot for drug trafficking violence.

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