In Ecuador on Tuesday, gunmen broke into the premises of a television station during a live broadcast. Several journalists and employees were threatened by a group of criminals with machine guns and explosives and taken hostage, as could be seen on television images. Two people were injured.
“We’re on the air so they know not to play with the mafia,” a man said into the camera. The people, masked with balaclavas and mostly dressed in black, brandished weapons and attacked the huddled employees. Gunshots and people screaming could also be heard in the recordings before the transmission was cut off. It was the state television station TC Televisión in the port city of Guayaquil. The police spoke of “criminals” who had broken into the premises. Special forces were deployed against them. A short time later, the police announced that “order had been restored” and 13 intruders had been arrested.
The incident was preceded by Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa declaring a 60-day state of emergency on Monday due to violence in prisons. This means, among other things, that the right to assemble is temporarily restricted, according to a decree. In addition, a nighttime curfew will apply for the next 60 days.
After the hostage-taking in the TV studio, President Noboa declared the clashes between criminal gangs and security forces as an internal armed conflict. The armed forces would be ordered to carry out operations against around 20 criminal organizations, it said in a published decree.
Nearly two dozen criminal gangs have been declared terrorist organizations. All groups are now military targets, said Admiral Jaime Vela, head of the armed forces’ joint command, after a security meeting with Noboa and other officials. The gangs are terrorist organizations and not state war parties that must be destroyed, it said. Immediately afterwards there were several attacks and explosions in the country. So far no one has claimed responsibility for the crimes.
Several countries are responding to the outbreak of violence in Ecuador with security measures: The unrest has prompted the Peruvian government to declare a state of emergency on the border with Ecuador and to relocate security forces and army troops to the area. China closed its embassy and consulates general in Ecuador effective January 10 until further notice. Brazil, Colombia and Chile expressed their support to the Ecuadorian government.
Violence in Ecuador has increased dramatically in recent years
Days earlier, criminal gangs had fought violently in the country’s prisons and taken guards hostage. According to the prison administration, the head of the powerful gang “Los Choneros”, Adolfo Macías alias “Fito”, apparently managed to escape. This Tuesday, the authorities also reported the escape of another drug lord, Fabricio Colón Pico, one of the leaders of the “Los Lobos” gang.
According to police, seven police officers were also kidnapped in three separate incidents in the southern city of Machala, Quito and Los Rios province. The SNAI prison authority said 11 prison guards who had been taken hostage in the past two days had been released. However, 139 guards and other staff are still held hostage.
Violence has increased dramatically in Ecuador in recent years. With around 25 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants, one of the highest values in Latin America was recorded in 2022. Many of the overcrowded prisons are controlled by criminal organizations and fights between gangs often occur there.