Ten killed, gangs unleash terror as Ecuador declares state of emergency
Al Jazeera
Gunmen storm TV station during live broadcast, more than 20 violent incidents reported as country lurches into crisis.
At least 10 people have been killed in Ecuador in a series of attacks blamed on armed gangs, as the country plunges into chaos in what the new president has called an “internal armed conflict”.
President Daniel Noboa, 36, declared a 60-day state of emergency and nightly curfew on Monday following the escape of Jose Adolfo Macias, aka “Fito”, the leader of Ecuador’s biggest gang, Los Choneros. Macias was serving a 34-year sentence at the La Regional prison in the port city of Guayaquil.
Gangsters unleashed a wave of terror across the country and in several overcrowded prisons after eight people were killed and three were injured in attacks in Guayaquil, while two officers were “viciously murdered by armed criminals” in the nearby town of Nobol, police said late on Tuesday.
In retaliation, local gangs took several police officers hostage and set off explosions in several cities. Armed and hooded gang members stormed a studio of state-owned TC Television in Guayaquil with guns and explosives while cameras were rolling on Tuesday. The 13 gunmen were subsequently arrested.
Guayaquil, a coastal city that is Ecuador’s largest, is considered the country’s most dangerous, with its ports a hub for drug smuggling.