Ecuador: Armed Men Attack TV Station Amid Nationwide Gang Violence

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Facts

• One day after Ecuador Pres. Daniel Noboa declared a state of emergency because of increased gang violence, armed men barged into a news station during a live broadcast on Tuesday and threatened staff, injuring one individual.¹
• Hooded gunmen rushed into the TC Television studio during the mid-afternoon live news broadcast and held the staff hostage for 15 minutes. Viewers heard screams and gunshots before one man said, “We are on air, so you know that you cannot play with the mafia.”²
• According to Ecuador’s National Police, as of Wednesday, at least 70 alleged gang members have been arrested, 13 of whom were detained on the TV station's premises.²
• Since the start of the 60-day emergency declaration, at least 10 people have been killed throughout the country. It is unknown if the TV station attack was related to the prison cell escape of the Los Choneros gang leader Adolfo Macias Villamar, aka “Fito,” which prompted the emergency declaration.³
• In addition to the TV station attack, at least seven police officers were kidnapped, and several explosives were detonated at various locations around the country. Noboa revised the initial declaration and declared 22 gangs known for violence — including the Los Choneros organization — as terrorist organizations.⁴
• Further to his declaration, Noboa said, “What we are living is proof that things need to change in our country … The time when drug traffickers, hit men and organized crime tells the government what to do is over.”⁵

Sources: ¹Voice of America, ²Associated Press, ³BBC News, ⁴www.reuters.com and ⁵Washington Post.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by Barrons. Noboa is determined to end violent crime in Ecuador. He recently announced two new prisons will be built far away from the violence centers, where brutality has taken over in recent years. His long-term plan is to restore the country to the peace it saw before being overrun with drugs and violence from Columbia and Peru.
• Narrative B, as provided by Guardian. The politicians and police of Ecuador have proven that they can’t be trusted. Families and business owners have been left to fend for themselves against violent gangs that have infiltrated their neighborhoods, and people have been forced to pay off criminals with their meager earnings or they face violence. Noboa has little chance of rooting out crime, especially when the gangs are so deeply tied to systemic corruption.

Predictions