By Yelena Mandenberg & Jeremiah Hassel – The Mirror US
Several gunmen appeared on national television during a news broadcast in Ecuador, hijacking the studio and holding the hosts hostage in a terrifying video captured by viewers that has started to go viral on Twitter as the country has declared a state of emergency.
The incident occurred at the studio of TC Televisión, reported El Universo. The studio is located in the north of Guayaquil, a major city on the western coast of the country. “They want to kill us all,” journalists could be heard yelling on the screen in the video.
Police confirmed they have bought the terrifying live TV hijack to an end and arrested all the suspects. They said in two separate tweets: “Following the intervention of police in the installations of TC Televison, people are being evacuated from the site with the aim of verifying updates with workers and reestablishing order.
“As a result of the operation our police units have apprehended several suspects.” Pictures posted by the police online showed several men face-down on the floor with their hands tied behind their backs. Local reports said 13 people had been arrested.
Ecuador has declared a state of emergency in the form of an “internal armed conflict” as drug gangs wreak havoc on the South American nation after the escape of a gang leader from prison.
The men who entered the studio were hooded, and one could reportedly be heard saying: “We are on the air so that they know that we do not play with the mafia.” Los Choneros is thought to be responsible.
Los Choneros is one of the Ecuadorian gangs authorities considered responsible for a spike in violence that reached a new level last year with the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio. Their leader, Adolfo Macías, alias Fito, was the drug king pin that escaped from prison two days ago. The gang has links with Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel, according to authorities.
Chaos broke out starting at about 2 pm local time on Tuesday, it was reported, and at around 2:30 pm, a series of explosions could be heard emanating from the studio. One of the masked intruders reportedly carried a stick of dynamite and left it in the reception area.
“Don’t shoot, please!” several of the employees could reportedly be heard screaming. The signal abruptly cut out from the broadcast at 2:39 pm, but the channel continued to broadcast internationally.
The president of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, had his office issue a statement acknowledging the attack on the TV station.
The translated statement says, “The National Government declares the existence of an internal armed conflict in Ecuador. Issues a decree that declares several organized crime groups terrorists and provides for the direct intervention of the Armed Forces (FF.AA).”
Local authorities dispatched specialized units to the scene, including bomb squads and tactical teams, in an attempt to diffuse the situation and confront the gunmen.
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After the government had declared the group formally as terrorists, they dispatched special army units to the station. Employees at Gamavisión, a studio located on the same property, were evacuated through a side exit, it was reported and were able to make it out safely.
One person rescued was said to have suffered a leg wound although TV boss Manuel Ortega insisted last night there were no casualties, saying: “We are safe, the station has been evacuated.”
A journalist named locally as Jose Luis Calderon had a gun pointed at his head and is also said to have had a stick of dynamite placed inside his jacket pocket. He was pictured on his knees pleading for mercy.
Ecuadorian police have released a video that shows the arrest of all the suspects. The video shows the suspects being marched out of the studio, surrounded by officers. Most have been unmasked at this point and were dragged out while handcuffed.
Meanwhile, the police seen in the video are masked, to protect their identities, as drug-gang related violence reached a new level in the country last year.
“The country is kidnapped, this has already gone to another level,” wrote @Sargox on X, formerly known as Twitter, who posted the footage. “When it hurts me that this very privileged country reaches this level.”
The state of emergency was declared just after it emerged that a drug kingpin had seemingly disappeared from his cell. Ecuadorian authorities reported Sunday that Adolfo Macias, 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.
Thousands of soldiers and police searched for Adolfo Macías, alias Fito, the convicted leader of the powerful drug gang Los Choneros, while prisons began rioting across the country. The drug lord’s escape triggered a wave of crimes across the country, including kidnappings of law enforcement and prisoners taking guards hostage.
Ecuador’s President Noboa vowed to “take back control” of the country’s prisons during his election, as they are overrun by gangs who are able to stage riots and escapes, and making demands of the government while they do so.