On Monday, the Ecuadorian president declared a state of emergency, but the response of organized crime has led him to further tighten the measures.
Ecuador’s president, Daniel Noboa, declared in a decree the existence of an “internal armed conflict” in the country and ordered the Armed Forces to carry out actions, after armed men took the TV TC channel in full live transmission.
“I have signed the executive decree declaring Internal Armed Conflict,” Noboa wrote in a message on his X account (formerly Twitter) in which he pointed out that he has identified transnational organized crime groups “as terrorist organizations and belligerent non-state actors.”
Among them he listed “Eagles, EaglesKiller, Ak47, Dark Knights, ChoneKiller, Choneros, Covicheros, Covicheros, Hartel de las Feas, Cubanos, Fatales, Gánster, Kater Piler, Lizards, Latin Kings, Lobos, Los p.27, Los Tiburones, Mafia 18, Mafia Trébol, Patrones, R7, Tiguerones.”
He added that he has ordered the Armed Forces to carry out military operations to neutralize these groups.
President of Ecuador declares state of emergency
Noboa signed the decree at a time of great tension in the country over car bursts in different cities, explosive attacks, kidnapping of police officers and retention of prison officers in the prisons themselves.
On television, live was observed when the hooded men subdued the staff and then shots and screams were heard, until the police arrived.
The police indicated on their social networks that they evacuated people from the area “in order to verify new developments with the media workers and restore order.”
Meanwhile, institutions such as the University of Guayaquil and several commercial premises in Quito closed their doors in the face of fear of violence.
As early as Monday, the Ecuadorian president had declared a state of emergency to try to stop the wave of criminality.
This article has been translated from the original which first appeared in El Salvador