GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador – A brazen attack unfolded on live television as armed and masked men stormed a television station in Ecuador, highlighting the escalating violence in the country following a recent prison escape. The leader of a drug gang mysteriously disappeared from his cell in Guayaquil, leading the government to declare a state of emergency. Viewers tuned in to TC Television witnessed the men threatening presenters and studio hands with firearms and explosives, creating a tense and terrifying scene.
The police were able to neutralize the situation and arrested 13 individuals. Ecuador’s attorney general’s office announced that the suspects will be charged with terrorism and could face up to 13 years in prison. The recent surge in violence can be traced back to a massacre in the country’s most violent prison in February 2021, which left at least 79 individuals dead and set off a series of shocking events within the Ecuadorian prison system.
Prison violence has spilled over into the streets, resulting in rampant kidnapping, murder, robbery, and extortion, making Ecuador one of the most violent countries in the region. According to authorities, disputes between gangs inside the prisons have led to deadly clashes, with some gangs having ties to Mexican cartels. President Daniel Noboa has vowed to eradicate the violence through a plan known as the Phoenix Plan, which includes a state of emergency and curfew.
Additionally, the recent attack on TC Television prompted the government to recognize the country as being in an armed, domestic conflict and identify several organizations as “terrorists and belligerent non-state actors.” The decree allows the armed forces to carry out military operations to neutralize the identified groups while observing international law. The violence in Ecuador is rooted in disputes between gangs for control of prisons, drug smuggling routes, and turf for the sale of drugs, disrupting the daily lives of Ecuadorians and small- and medium-sized businesses. Authorities believe that the recent attack on the TV studio signifies organized crime’s perception of the state’s weakness, prompting the president to take decisive action to instill a sense of safety and order in the country.