TV studio stormed by masked gunmen live on air after gang leader escapes jail

The Ecuadorian government declared a state of emergency after two gang leaders escaped from prison.

Jan 10, 2024 - 09:00
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TV studio stormed by masked gunmen live on air after gang leader escapes jail

The president of Ecuador has declared a state of ‘internal armed conflict’ after the escape of a powerful gang leader from prison saw armed criminals hijack a television station.

Adolfo ‘Fito’ Macías, leader of the Los Choneros gang, was discovered to be missing from his cell on Sunday – the same day he was supposed to be transferred from a low to maximum security prison.

An armed gang stormed a live television news broadcast yesterday evening, claiming they had bombs as they forced the presenters and crew to the ground.

A university was also attacked, and it’s been reported that prison guards have been executed by prisoners.

The Ecuadorian government declared a state of emergency following Macías’s escape on Sunday, and the escape of another gang leader, Los Lobos’s Fabricio Colon Pico, who managed to escape prison on Tuesday.

Shortly after the gunmen stormed the TV station, President Daniel Noboa declared 20 drug trafficking gangs operating in the country as terrorist groups and authorised Ecuador’s military to ‘neutralise’ the groups – within the bounds of international humanitarian law.

Police forces stand guard outside the Turi prison as inmates hold prison guards hostage, in Cuenca, Ecuador, on January 8, 2024. The leader of Ecuador's main criminal gang Adolfo Mac??as, alias
Police forces stand guard outside the Turi prison after Macías’s escape (Picture: Fernando MACHADO/AFP)
Video grab from live footage of Ecuadorean TC Television showing armed men wearing balaclavas bursting into the studio of public television station TC in drug violence-torn port city of Guayaquil, Ecuador, and taking hostage several journalists and staff members on January 9, 2024, a day after Ecuadorean President Daniel Noboa declared a state of emergency following the escape from prison of a dangerous narco boss. Gunshots rang out on live TV in violence-torn Ecuador as armed men carrying rifles and grenades stormed the studio shortly after gangsters vowed a
Armed men wearing balaclavas burst into the TC Television studio and took hostages (Picture: TC TELEVISION/AFP)
People accused of invading and taking over television station TC with weapons and forcing staff to lie and sit down, lie handcuffed on the floor in a police haundout, in Guayaquil, Ecuador, January 9, 2024. Ecuadorean Police/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES
Police say everyone involved in the TV station attack has been arrested (Picture: via REUTERS)
QUITO, ECUADOR - JANUARY 09: Ecuadorian soldiers take security measures with a military armored vehicle on roads after Ecuador president declares 'internal armed conflict,' orders military operations against organized crime groups in Quito, Ecuador on January 09, 2024. Ecuador declared a state of emergency Monday after one of the country's most dangerous gang leaders disappeared from his prison cell, triggering riots in at least six correctional facilities across the country. President Daniel Noboa declared a 60-day state of emergency, the first since he came to power on Nov. 23 last year. (Photo by Rafael Rodriguez/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Military vehicles roam the streets (Picture: Rafael Rodriguez/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The British Foreign Office warned against all but essential travel to parts of the country.

Peru has also declared a state of emergency along its northern border with Ecuador due to the ongoing violence.

Macías, who was convicted of drug trafficking, murder and organized crime, was serving a 34-year sentence in La Regional prison in the port of Guayaquil.

Pico had been arrested last Friday for alleged involvement in a plot to assassinate Ecuador’s attorney general.

But it’s thought that gang leaders are still able to rule from inside prison.

Gunshots rang out on live television as men armed with bombs and grenades burst into the set of the TC Television network, shortly after gangsters vowed a ‘war’ against the president’s plans to reclaim control from ‘narcoterrorists.’

Police stormed the set after the horrific situation was broadcast live for around half and hour, and they say all gunmen who broke into the studio have been arrested.

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