Armed group interrupts live broadcast of a television channel in Ecuador

A group of hooded gunmen abruptly interrupted a live broadcast of the television channel TC from Guayaquil, Ecuador, this Tuesday. The attackers forced the channel staff to lie down on the ground while screams were heard in the background.

The Ecuadorian police responded with a deployment of specialized units around the channel’s headquarters. The officers managed to detain several of the criminals, although others escaped to an unknown location. The video of this incident can be found on El País’s YouTube channel.

The live broadcast at the time of the intervention showed the presence of the criminals with different types of weapons and explosives, while the people present on the set pleaded not to be harmed. About 15 minutes after the arrival of these individuals, the transmission was cut off.

Shortly after this violent act, the president of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, signed a decree officially declaring the existence of an internal armed conflict in the country and pointed out several criminal gangs.

The president shared the decree on social network X, ordering the Armed Forces to restore order on the streets of Ecuador. This Tuesday, it was also reported that at least seven police officers were kidnapped and several explosions occurred in the provinces of Esmeraldas and Los Ríos, according to the news agency Reuters. In addition, explosions were reported in Loja and Machala, and about 40 inmates escaped from a prison in the city of Riobamba.

Noboa, who took office in November with the promise of restoring security to Ecuadorians, declared on his social networks: “We will not negotiate.” The president expressed his determination to confront the criminal groups and gave precise instructions to the military and police forces to intervene in the control of prisons.

These events occur after the president decreed a state of emergency throughout the country for 60 days, in response to the escape of drug trafficker Adolfo Macías ‘Fito’, one of the most dangerous criminals of the South American nation.

This individual was serving a 34-year prison sentence in 2011 when he learned that he was going to be transferred to a maximum-security prison, which prompted his escape. He was also aware that rival gangs Los Lobos and Los Tiguerones had planned an assassination against him. Currently, at least 3,000 officers, including police and armed forces members, are conducting a search operation.