Footage indicates that a group of armed men breached a live television studio in Ecuador and threatened the staff.
Tuesday witnessed the interruption of a live broadcast by station TC in the city of Guayaquil by a group of individuals clad in scarves and armed with firearms.
The staff was compelled to be on the floor prior to the cessation of the live transmission.
On Monday, Ecuador declared a state of emergency for sixty days in response to the abduction of a convicted gang leader from his prison cell.
After 30 minutes, cops entered the TC studios as the cloaked men left.
Quito and Guayaquil national police units have been dispatched to the location.
The national police force reported on X, formerly Twitter, that studio staff had been evacuated.
It was subsequently reported that multiple suspects had been apprehended.
State of Emergency Ramifications
President Daniel Noboa issued an executive order declaring an internal armed conflict and designating a number of organised criminal groups as “terrorist organisations” and “non-state actors” in the aftermath of the incident.
All academic and administrative activities have been suspended, according to the University of Guayaquil, in light of the nationwide social unrest.
Gang members have taken at least seven police officers hostage since the declaration of the state of emergency.
President Noboa implemented the measures following the Sunday disappearance of the Los Choneros gang’s leader from a maximum security prison.
A second drug lord and 40 other criminals escaped from a Riobamba prison early Tuesday morning.
The correlation between the prison escape and the assault on the television station remains uncertain at this time. However, it serves as an illustration of the declining security climate within the nation.
