Masked gunmen stormed a television studio in Ecuador and took a news anchor and others hostage. These people created terror by threatening to kill security forces and civilians. In view of the deteriorating situation, Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa has ordered a military operation against the country’s powerful criminal groups. The prison escape of one of Ecuador’s most powerful crime lords has sparked a security crisis. On Tuesday, hours after declaring war on the gangsters, Noboa also declared a state of internal armed conflict in the country.
People armed with pistols and sticks of dynamite stormed the set of a news program in the Ecuadorian city of Guayaquil as the program was being broadcast live across the country. They shouted and threatened to bomb them. Meanwhile, gunshots were also heard. Because of which panic spread throughout the building.
TC Television news chief Alina Manrique said she was in the control room in front of the studio when a group of masked men entered the building. A man pointed a gun at her head and told her to sit on the floor. The event was telecasted live for a long time. After about 15 minutes, the signal of the station was cut off. Manrique said the attackers fled the studio when they realized they were surrounded by police.
After a powerful drug mafia escaped from prison, Ecuador has been rocked by a series of attacks, including the kidnapping of several police officers. President Daniel Ngoboya declared a national emergency on Monday, a measure that allows authorities to suspend people’s rights and deploy the military in places like prisons. Shortly after the gunmen stormed the TV station, President Noboa issued a statement designating 20 drug-trafficking gangs operating in the country as terrorist groups and calling the Ecuadorian military within the bounds of international humanitarian law. It has been authorized to take action to attack these groups within.
