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Small Bomb Exploded at Citigroup Bank Guayaquil, Ecuador

GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador (Reuters) - A small bomb exploded in front of a branch of U.S. bank Citigroup on Wednesday in the Ecuadorean port of Guayaquil, where representatives from three Andean nations and the United States were holding free trade talks, police said.
No one was injured but the blast blew out windows of the bank, located near a hotel where the trade negotiations between Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and the United States were taking place.

The talks were not disrupted by the incident. A left-wing organization calling itself the Popular Fighters' Group claimed responsibility for the bombing, police said. The group has carried out previous minor bomb attacks in Ecuador.

In a statement sent to local radio stations, the group accused Ecuador's President Alfredo Palacio of being "anti-patriotic, corrupt, and submitting to the will of imperialism from the north."

It criticized the talks on an Andean free trade agreement with the United States. Palacio was appointed Ecuador's president in April by the nation's Congress, which ousted his predecessor, Lucio Gutierrez, amid popular protests over his rule.

Ecuador Travel at Junio 9, 2005 12:32 PM | Ecuador Travel | Compras y Regalos