Masked men broke on to the set of a public television channel in Ecuador, waving guns and explosives during a live broadcast, and the president issued a decree declaring the South American country had entered an “internal armed conflict”.
The men, armed with pistols and what looked like sticks of dynamite, entered the set of the TC Television network in the port city of Guayaquil shouting that they had bombs. Noises similar to gunshots could be heard in the background. It was not immediately clear if any station personnel were injured.
Ecuador has been rocked by a series of attacks, including the abductions of police officers, following a powerful gang leader’s apparent escape from prison. President Daniel Noboa this week said he would declare a national state of emergency, allowing authorities to suspend people’s rights and mobilise the military in places such as prisons.
Shortly after the gunmen stormed the TV station, Noboa issued another decree designating 20 drug trafficking gangs as terrorist groups and authorising Ecuador’s military to “neutralise” these groups within the bounds of international humanitarian law.
The government has not said how many attacks have taken place since they announced Los Choneros gang leader Adolfo Macías, alias “Fito”, was discovered missing from his cell in a low-security prison on Monday. He was scheduled to be transferred to a maximum security facility that day.
