Ecuador TV broadcast interrupted by armed men as violence rocks country – National

A live broadcast by Ecuadorean television station TC was interrupted on Tuesday by hooded and armed people, who obliged staff to lie on the floor, as shots and yelling were heard.

Some of the hooded people were later seen on the feed leaving a sound stage with some staff.

The incident comes amid the kidnappings of at least seven police officers and a series of explosions, a day after President Daniel Noboa declared a state of emergency.

A live feed, which eventually cut out, showed staff huddling on the floor of TC’s studios in Guayaquil, as armed figures gestured at the camera. Someone on the live feed could be heard yelling “no police.” Another voice was heard yelling “don’t shoot.”

Ecuador’s national police said on social media its specialized units were deployed at the location to attend to the emergency.

Noboa, son of one of the country’s richest men, took office in November promising to stem a wave of drug trade-related violence on the streets and in prisons which has been growing for years.

Noboa declared a 60-day state of emergency – a tool used by his predecessor to little success – on Monday, enabling military patrols, including in prisons, and setting a national nighttime curfew.

The measure was a response to the apparent escape of Adolfo Macías, leader of the Los Choneros criminal gang, from the prison where he was serving a 34-year sentence, and other recent prison incidents, including hostage-takings of guards.

Ecuadorian authorities reported Sunday that Macías, alias “Fito,” wasn’t in his cell in a low security prison. He was scheduled to be transferred to a maximum security facility that day.

His whereabouts were unclear.

In an updated decree published on Tuesday afternoon, Noboa said he recognized an “internal armed conflict” in Ecuador and identified several criminal gangs as terrorist groups, including Los Choneros. The decree ordered the armed forces to neutralize the groups.

Prosecutors opened an investigation and charged two guards in connection with Macías’ alleged escape, but neither the police, the corrections system, nor the federal government confirmed whether Macías fled the facility or might be hiding in it.

In February 2013, he escaped from a maximum security facility but was recaptured weeks later.

Hours before the incident at the television station, Ecuadorian authorities had confirmed a series of attacks around the country, including explosions and the abduction of several police officers.

Police reported four officers were kidnapped on Monday night and remained missing, one in the capital, Quito, and three in Quevedo city.

Separately, agents arrested two people for possession of explosives and as suspects in at least one of the attacks in the South American country.

The government has not said how many attacks were registered in total, but local media reported several, including some in northern cities, where vehicles were set on fire, and others in Quito, including an explosion near the house of the president of the National Justice Court.

Noboa said in a message on Instagram that he wouldn’t stop until he “brings back peace to all Ecuadorians,” and that his government had decided to confront crime.

The wave of attacks began a few hours after Noboa’s announcement.

Los Choneros is one of the Ecuadorian gangs authorities consider responsible for a spike in violence that reached a new level last year with the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio. The gang has links with Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel, according to authorities.

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—With additional files from the Associated Press