Gunmen storm TV studio in Ecuador during live broadcast and take hostages Macron appoints Gabriel Attal (34) as new French Prime Minister

In Ecuador, armed men broke into the premises of a television station during a live broadcast. Several journalists and employees have been threatened and taken hostage with machine guns and explosives by a group of criminals, as seen on television on Tuesday. “We’re on the air so they know not to play with the mafia,” a man said into the camera. Shots and screams from people could also be heard on the recordings. It concerned the state television channel TC Televisión in the port city of Guayaquil.

Criminals have broken into the premises of a media company in Guayaquil, Ecuadorian police say on platform “Special units would be deployed on site to deal with this emergency.” Shortly afterwards, police confirmed the arrest of several people.

Just a day earlier, President Daniel Noboa had declared a state of emergency over the chaotic conditions in the South American country’s prisons. This means, among other things, that the right to meet is temporarily limited, according to the decree published on Monday. In addition, a night curfew will apply for the next 60 days.

Criminal gangs had fought violently in the country’s prisons and taken guards hostage. According to the prison management, the head of the powerful gang “Los Choneros”, Adolfo Macías alias “Fito”, apparently managed to escape. This Tuesday, authorities also reported the escape of another drug lord, Fabricio Colón Pico, one of the leaders of the ‘Los Lobos’ gang.

Violence in Ecuador has increased dramatically in recent years. With around 25 murders per 100,000 inhabitants, one of the highest values ​​in Latin America was recorded in 2022. Many of the overcrowded prisons are controlled by criminal organizations and fights between gangs often take place. (sda/dpa)

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