From prison riots to gunmen storming TV broadcast, why Ecuador is witnessing mass violence

Ecuador, situated between Colombia and Peru and long considered to be a peaceful nation, is facing perhaps its biggest security crisis. On Tuesday, heavily armed gangsters stormed the studio of a major television station during a live broadcast.

The incident comes amid a series of seemingly coordinated attacks across the South American country, prompting President Daniel Noboa to declare a state of “internal armed conflict”.

The United States has also reacted to the situation, condemning the “brazen attacks” in Ecuador and said it is “co-ordinating closely” with President Noboa and his Ecuadorean government and stands “ready to provide assistance”.

Let’s take a closer look at what’s happening in the Andean nation.

Storming a TV station

On Tuesday, armed men wearing balaclavas burst into the studio of a public television station, TC Televisión network, in Ecuador’s largest city, Guayaquil, at about 2pm local time.

The men could be seen on camera carrying pistols, shotguns, machine guns, grenades and sticks of dynamite, and someone was heard yelling “Don’t shoot!” before the signal was eventually cut.