Call it reality TV writ large. In real time.A live news broadcast in the Ecuadorian city of Guayaquil was interrupted on Tuesday after armed gunmen wearing hoods broke into the station and forced staff to the floor at gunpoint. Although the live feed was cut off, national police units were seen entering the station 30 minutes later.The country’s national police force said on Twitter (“X”) that staff had been evacuated from the studio.The chaos comes after a 60-day state of emergency was declared on Monday after the convicted leader of the Los Choneros gang disappeared from a maximum security jail on Monday.Nearly 40 other inmates, including another convicted drug lord broke out of a separate prison on Tuesday morning. Following the incident, President Daniel Noboa signed an executive order declaring an internal armed conflict and listed several local crime groups as "terrorist organizations" and "non-state actors."At least seven police officers have been kidnapped since the state of emergency was declared. It’s not clear if the storming of the television station was linked to the escapes, but it served as a glaring reminder of the deteriorating security situation in the South American nation. Subsequently, the University of Guayaquil said all academic and administrative activities have been suspended given the precarious situation.
Call it reality TV writ large. In real time.A live news broadcast in the Ecuadorian city of Guayaquil was interrupted on Tuesday after armed gunmen wearing hoods broke into the station and forced staff to the floor at gunpoint. Although the live feed was cut off, national police units were seen entering the station 30 minutes later.The country’s national police force said on Twitter (“X”) that staff had been evacuated from the studio.The chaos comes after a 60-day state of emergency was declared on Monday after the convicted leader of the Los Choneros gang disappeared from a maximum security jail on Monday.Nearly 40 other inmates, including another convicted drug lord broke out of a separate prison on Tuesday morning. Following the incident, President Daniel Noboa signed an executive order declaring an internal armed conflict and listed several local crime groups as "terrorist organizations" and "non-state actors."At least seven police officers have been kidnapped since the state of emergency was declared. It’s not clear if the storming of the television station was linked to the escapes, but it served as a glaring reminder of the deteriorating security situation in the South American nation. Subsequently, the University of Guayaquil said all academic and administrative activities have been suspended given the precarious situation.
