Journalist opens USB letter bomb in newsroom

BBC reported that Journalists across Ecuador have been targeted by explosive devices sent through the post.

One presenter, Lenin Artieda, was injured when he opened the envelope in the middle of the newsroom. He said the explosive device looked like a USB drive. He plugged it into his computer and it detonated.

The Ecuadorean attorney-general’s department confirmed it had opened a terrorism investigation into the letters on Monday. It did not name the specific news outlets targeted. However, at least five different organisations across Ecuador were sent the letters.

The government has condemned the attacks, describing freedom of expression as “a right that must be respected. .Any attempt to intimidate journalism and freedom of expression is a loathsome action that should be punished with all the rigour of justice,” it said in a statement.