Terror in Ecuador: Why did gunmen storm a TV station? | DW News

We have some breaking news that’s coming in a group of armed gunmen in Ecuador have stormed a television station there and that during a live broadcast shots have been heard inside the station located in the city of guak Hill this footage from the broadcast shows staff

Being forced to lie on the floor you see there gunmen with masks on reportedly saying that they have weapons and guns and bombs a state of emergency is already in effect across equator door that after a drug cartel leader broke out of prison adalo masas also known as

Veto was serving a 34e sentence for murder and narcotics trafficking so Ecuador a country right now in upro we want to find out more about this breaking news story I want to bring in journalist andreana NOOA arui who joins us from the Ecuadorian Capital keto Andre it’s good to have you with us

Tell us what more do we know about what’s happening at that TV station H hello well right now actually I just got a message that all the people from the TV station have been released and the injured ones are being taken to a hospital so the police just storm in the

TV station a couple of minutes ago and the latest we know is that the situation is under control right now do we know are they making any demands I mean what do what do these gunmen want that’s kind of complex to explain because it’s something that’s happening

Since uh probably last night that the government issued a executive order yes to put the military on the streets so it has been some kind of retaliation uh against this measurement from the government so this is one of the violence acts that we have been seen

Since early this morning yeah and I I understand that the president of Ecuador is is facing um a lot of pressure to restore Security in the country talk to me about that I mean what is the security situation there we haven’t had like uh real security here from the past two or three

Years actually the violence is getting bigger on the streets and right now uh from last night it’s chaos everywhere we have had bombings uh cars exploding there are shootings different uh cities we have had um the jails prisoners of the jails they are making demands and everything is a little bit chaotic and

The government is not being very clear about what is being done but for now right now the president just um changed the executive order from last night and they are kind of declaring war against these uh gangs and these uh organized crime uh organization so this is last minute uh I’m trying to

Understand exactly what the government is trying to do right now yeah I mean I I know the picture is still unclear um but we do know though that there was um an imprisoned drug cartel boss who escaped from prison I think he’s known as veto um in the country and that

Prompted the president to say that he wants to regain control of Ecuador’s prisons from Criminal gangs I guess people on the outside are wondering who is in control of Ecuador right now is it the government or is it the drug cartels well the prisons the prison system uh the government hasn’t had any

Control over it for the past two years so the president is right he’s trying to regain control of the prison system but that’s going to be hard because the gangs they have the control now and it’s true what you said uh this gang leader um called fito he escaped prison um the

Government let us know that he was not there uh I think two days ago but the rumors on the street is that he had fled around Christmas and we haven’t had an official statement about that I see so it’s kind of hard to know why now if he

Might be gone for for like I don’t know two or three weeks yeah and the executive order from last night one of the arguments to issue it was uh a big case of corruption that the district attorney started back on December against these gangs that are uh laundering actives

And involving really big cases of corruption here okay I’m trying unfortunately we’re out of time but we certainly do appreciate you bringing us up to date on what is going on in Ecuador lots of questions there and um obviously a serious security situation in the country tonight thank you

A group of armed gunmen in Ecuador have stormed a television station during a live broadcast.
Shots have been heard inside the station in the city of Guayaquil.
Footage from the broadcast shows staff being forced to lie on the floor.
A state of emergency is already in effect across Ecuador, after a drug cartel leader broke out of prison.
Adolfo Macias, also known as ‘Vito,’ was serving a 34-year sentence for murder and narcotics trafficking.

00:00 Background
00:44 Adriana Noboa Arregui, Journalist

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23 comments
  1. Ecuador have a massive corruption problem scale. In Colombia we have some crazy things in terms of violence, but right the safety trust in Ecuador is in its highest levels.

  2. I am still in shock that the world media not calling the Cartel the name of freedom fighters. I thought that to kidnap people it's okay. They are not considered a freedom fighters?

  3. This started when a group of socialist politicians softened laws. Some clown president said that gangs are like boyscouts and terrorists are just a subversive group. Now ecuadorians are paying for this foolish policy

  4. If an ex government in 2008 made a pact with drug traffickers, they received economic benefits, both the government and the drug traffickers, that is why we used to live in a lie of security. Now thanks to the current government of Noboa, Ecuador is not going to make pacts with drug traffickers as in the past, but rather the new government is going to eradicate them, that is why we all Ecuadorians support presodemt Noboa.

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