A car bomb detonated in Guayaquil, Ecuador, on October 15th, 2025, at approximately 4:30 AM UTC, near the Sheraton Hotel and the Mall del Sol, according to multiple social media reports. This incident follows a similar car bombing on the evening of October 14th, 2025, near the same commercial area. Eyewitness accounts shared on social media platforms described the explosion occurring "in front of me" and near the Sheraton. While initial unverified reports suggest a direct explosion in front of the Mall del Sol, witnesses also confirmed the blast occurred near the Sheraton Hotel. In Peru, President José Jerí defended the capacity of his new ministerial cabinet to confront citizen insecurity. Meanwhile, in Colombia, authorities reported the seizure of 2.7 tons of cocaine in the Pacific Ocean, intercepted on a speedboat bound for Costa Rica with five Colombian nationals apprehended. This operation, conducted without lethal force, took place amid existing regional tensions. In a separate operation in Sonsón, Antioquia, Colombian forces captured an individual identified as "Alias 24," described as the main escort for a leader of the Clan del Golfo's Magdalena Medio Structure, along with three other members of the group. Seized during this operation were six rifles, two submachine guns, five pistols, fragmentation grenades, ammunition, and communication equipment. The previous report from October 15th, 2025, detailed a car bomb explosion on October 14th, 2025, at approximately 6:30 p.m. local time, which killed one taxi driver and injured at least two others. That explosion also occurred near the Mall del Sol, with authorities treating it as a potential car bomb attack and noting a pattern of such incidents.
