In all likelihood, the group specifically targeted the building housing a Citibank branch office in Guayaquil because it represented the banking and financial center of the country, specifically at a time when Ecuador is discussing controversial free trade talks between Peru and Colombia with the US . Ecuador is hosting these talks, making it that much easier for groups of any stature to launch attacks against perceived elements of the free trade talks.

The GCP is a left-wing revolutionary group that has launched low-level incendiary attacks in Ecuador’s main cities. Very little is known of the group, but it seems they are preoccupied with the economic viability of Ecuador and target accordingly. However, the group also tried unsuccessfully to pamphlet bomb the Miss Universe competition in Cuenca in May 2004 (Terrorist Incident forthcoming); allegedly the pamphlets were critical of then-President Lucio Gutierrez’ economic policies. Most notably, the group took responsibility for a bomb blast against the British Consulate on June 8, 2004 (Terrorist Incident forthcoming) and a blast against the US Embassy in Quito in August 2003 (Terrorist Incident forthcoming). In the 2004 attack, the group detonated pamphlet bombs in a campaign against an Organization of American States’ meeting in Quito and the group’s economic policies. The June 2005 attack took place around 5:30am, thus avoiding the casualties that might have resulted had the branch office been full of patrons and staff.

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