Monday, December 23

Armed men break into a live TV studio in Ecuador as the country is rocked by a series of attacks

It comes as the country reels from a series of attacks after the government imposed a state of emergency following the apparent escape of powerful gang leader Adolfo Macías from prison.
During the TV broadcast when the studio was stormed, noises similar to gunshots could be heard in the background.
The channel broadcast live for at least 15 minutes before the signal was cut off.
Adolfo 'Fito' Macías in police custody in Ecuador earlier last year.
Adolfo ‘Fito’ Macías in police custody in Ecuador earlier last year. His escape from prison on Sunday sparked attacks across the country. (Joint Command of the Armed Forces of Ecuador)
While the transmission was on, the men could be seen on camera while some employees laid down on the floor and someone was heard yelling “Don’t shoot!”
Ecuador police said on X, formerly Twitter, that some units were deployed to the media facilities.
In a subsequent post, police confirmed the assailants had been captured.
“As a result of the intervention in @tctelevision, our police units have so far managed to arrest several subjects,” it wrote, alongside images of several men lying face down with their hands tied behind their backs.
Ecuador police confirmed they had arrested several people. (Twitter)
Pictures show several men with their hands tied behind their backs. (Twitter)
Hours earlier, 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 (Tuesday AEDT) 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 channel broadcast live for at least 15 minutes before the signal was cut off. (TC)
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.
Authorities have not said who is thought to be behind the attacks or if the incidents were part an orchestrated action.
The government has previously accused members of the main drug gangs for similar strikes.
In recent years, Ecuador has been engulfed by a surge of violence tied to drug trafficking, including homicides and kidnappings.
Soldiers patrol the perimeter of Inca prison during a state of emergency in Quito, Ecuador, Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024. (AP)
Ecuadorian authorities reported Sunday that Macías, alias “Fito” and the leader of Los Choneros gang, 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.
Prosecutors opened an investigation and charged two guards in connection with the 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.
On Monday, President Daniel Noboa decreed a national state of emergency for 60 days, allowing the authorities to suspend rights and mobilise the military in places such as prisons. The government also imposed a curfew from 11 pm to 5am on starting Monday night.
Soldiers patrol the perimeter of Inca prison during a state of emergency in Quito, Ecuador, Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, in the wake of the apparent escape of a powerful gang leader from prison. (AP)
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.
States of emergency were widely used by Noboa’s predecessor, Guillermo Lasso, as a way to confront the wave of violence that has affected the country.
The wave of attacks began a few hours after Noboa’s announcement.
Macías, who was convicted of drug trafficking, murder and organised crime, was serving a 34-year sentence in La Regional prison in the port of Guayaquil.
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.
Experts and authorities have acknowledged that gang members practically rule from inside the prisons, and Macías was believed to have continued controlling his group from within the detention facility.

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