It was around 21:00, Swedish time, that several men in balaclavas stormed the live broadcast that took place in a TV studio in Guayaquil.
The men were seen waving rifles, hand grenades and dynamite in front of the camera while shouting that they had “bombs”. In addition, they took several journalists and other staff hostage.
“Don’t shoot, please don’t shoot,” a woman shouted as shots were fired.
No one is said to have been physically harmed.
“Should be considered an act of terrorism”
The broadcast was interrupted after about half an hour in connection with the intervention of the national task force.
Commissioner Cesar Zapata confirms to the local television channel Teleamazonas that all those involved have been arrested and that several weapons have been seized.
– This should be considered an act of terrorism, Zapata told the channel.
Around the same time as the storming, panic reportedly broke out at a university in Guayaquil after men walked around with guns. In addition, shots are said to have been heard in the vicinity of the parliament.
Drug lord on the run
The death comes the day after Ecuador’s president declared a state of emergency in connection with the hunt for one of the country’s most notorious drug lords, writes Sky News.
It was last Sunday that José Adolfo Macías, also called “Fito”, was reported missing from his prison cell where he was serving a 34-year prison sentence for, among other things, drug trafficking and murder. Two correctional officers have been charged on suspicion of helping Macías escape.
Since then, at least seven police officers have been kidnapped and a series of explosions have occurred in the region.
The President: “Internal armed conflict”
Shortly after the storming, President Daniel Noboa stated that the country is in an “internal armed conflict”.
“I have ordered the armed forces to carry out military operations to neutralize the gangs,” he wrote on social media on Tuesday evening.
At the same time, the drug gangs have declared war on the security forces and civilians.
Photo: X