ECUADOR – Ecuador’s President, Daniel Noboa, has declared that his country is currently “at war” with drug gangs within its borders. Previously, these drug gangs had kidnapped over 130 prison guards and other staff, and even terrorized a TV station during a live broadcast.
“We are at war, and we cannot surrender to these terrorist groups,” stated Noboa in an interview with Canela Radio, as reported by the BBC on Thursday, January 11, 2024.
President Noboa has also ordered the “neutralization” of criminal gangs after days of violence, culminating in an attack on a television studio. Masked and armed individuals forcibly entered the live broadcast studio of the public television channel TC, compelling staff to drop to the floor.
Police made 13 arrests following the attack, which resulted in injuries to two employees.
At least 10 people have died since the state of emergency was declared in Ecuador on Monday.
During the harrowing Tuesday attack on the TV station, an armed man pointed a pump-action shotgun at the head of one of the captives, who was also threatened with a pistol. A woman could be heard pleading, “Don’t shoot, please don’t shoot,” while someone else screamed in pain.
“Please, they’ve come to kill us,” said a TC employee via WhatsApp. “God, don’t let this happen. The criminals are on the loose.”
The state of emergency was announced after a notorious gangster disappeared from his prison cell. It is unclear whether the incident at the Guayaquil TV studio is related to the disappearance of the drug gang boss Los Choneros from the prison in the same city, Adolfo Macías Villamar, better known as Fito.
President Noboa stated on Tuesday that an “internal armed conflict” is now taking place in the country, and he has mobilized the armed forces to conduct military operations to neutralize what he referred to as “transnational organized crime, terrorist organizations, and non-state actors at war.”
In the neighboring country, Peru, the government has ordered an immediate deployment of police forces to the border to prevent the spread of instability.
The escalating violence in the Andean nation, both inside and outside prisons, has been linked to conflicts between drug cartels, both foreign and local, vying for control of cocaine routes to the United States and Europe.(clue)
Cecep Muhamad Yusup 
Redaksi