Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa may have declared a state of emergency on Monday, yet it appears tensions in the country have only escalated since his now-headline-making decree.
While unrest has been simmering for some time in the South American nation, the instability reached a breaking point on Sunday when Adolfo “Fito” Macías, the leader of the nation’s notorious Los Choneros gang, escaped from his prison cell in the port city of Guayaquil, per the Associated Press.
⚡️ #AHORA | Un grupo de delincuentes tomó una emisora de televisión abierta en Ecuador. Los encapuchados salieron al aire en vivo, tienen granadas y armas de guerra. pic.twitter.com/10ACV52xWn
— Alejandro | Inversión & Actualidad (@Alpha_News__) January 9, 2024
As Noboa deployed 3,000 police officers and members of Ecuador’s armed forces to find Macías, who was serving a 34-year sentence for crimes including drug trafficking and murder, violence erupted across the nation, chaos defined by explosions, police kidnappings and the siege of a government-owned news station, an incident several terrified viewers saw play out on air while tuning in for an afternoon newscast.
“We get the producer in our earpieces and he says: ‘Please be careful. They’re forcing their way in. They’re robbing us. They’re attacking us,’” news anchor Jorge Rendón told The Guardian of the horrifying ordeal, one that broadcasted live for roughly 15 minutes before the feed was cut.
Though local authorities confirmed they had captured the alleged perpetrators — “our police units have so far managed to arrest several subjects and evidence linked to the crime,” Ecuadorian police wrote on Twitter — this was far from an isolated incident. From highway shootouts to some dude dressed as the Joker, here are some of the most harrowing scenes amid Ecuador’s ongoing crisis.
Two men dressed up as Batman and Joker in the midst of Ecuador's civil war ☠️pic.twitter.com/SwqzqUSUUY
— ɢʀɪɴɢᴏ (@GringoGuerrilla) January 10, 2024
Ecuador is a hellscape thanks to Capitalism: pic.twitter.com/jKXxoR7qs3
— ☭Long Live James Connolly ✊(he/him) (@tnega74) January 10, 2024
⚡Ecuador's citizens take up arms against drug cartels
— Military Discover (@Militarydiscove) January 10, 2024
Locals in Ecuador can be seen arming themselves and joining forces with the police to combat the rising narcoterrorism sweeping through their country. pic.twitter.com/xvXmvnH8NN
JUST IN: Ecuador is in total chaos as armed gangs have reportedly stormed University of Guayaquil, attempting to kidnap students.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) January 9, 2024
The incident comes as a television station crew was taken hostage on live air.
The chaos is in response to President Daniel Noboa's decision to call… pic.twitter.com/49NwjeC2u2
Ecuador: Students at Guayaquil University have barricaded themselves because organized crime has taken over the university and is attempting to kidnap students. #Ecuador | #Emergency pic.twitter.com/M0T45FjJr3
— DaveO ⚔️ (@Patri0tCx_) January 9, 2024
Do you think the soldier is too rough or acting accordingly how he treated one of the terrorists in Guayaquil, Ecuador?
— I Meme Therefore I Am (@ImMeme0) January 10, 2024
pic.twitter.com/9TjFxhIVNw
Someone spotted Batman protecting the streets in Ecuador pic.twitter.com/WjWfdRFcGW
— ScreenTime (@screentime) January 10, 2024
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