State of Emergency in Ecuador; Armed Attack on Television Station

Following an armed attack on a television station in Ecuador during a live broadcast on Tuesday, the new president of the country declared a state of emergency and ordered the military to intervene. According to the Washington Post, as armed men held explosives in front of the cameras of the 'TC' network in Guayaquil, a voice was heard in the background saying, 'Tell them we have a bomb.' The report states that with the intervention of police and security forces, about 10 attackers, some of whom appear to be members of powerful drug gangs, were arrested. The police said that the takeover of the television station was just one of several attacks across the country within a 24-hour period; these attacks included around 30 car bombings, the kidnapping of seven police officers, and riots in several prisons. Additionally, intelligence officials, who requested anonymity, told the Washington Post that these series of attacks seem to have been pre-planned and coordinated, operations that intelligence officials are not authorized to discuss in detail. Two intelligence officials from the police and armed forces told the newspaper that they believe this operation was organized by the 'Los Lobos' gang and is a message to a government that intends to transfer drug gang leaders to 'security prisons.' Daniel Noboa, the president of Ecuador, declared a state of emergency on Monday following the escape of the 'most notorious drug gang leader' from prison. In his decree on Tuesday, Noboa also ordered the military to intervene in this escalating crisis and declared several gangs as terrorist organizations. Daniel Noboa also stated, 'The situation we are living in is a good reason to show that everything in our country must change. The time when drug traffickers and armed men told the government what to do is over.'