Ecuador enacts ‘military operations’ against gangs after gunmen storm broadcaster TC live on air

Ecuador’s TC studio (Stringer/dpa/Alamy Live News)

Ecuador’s president has enacted “military operations” against armed criminal gangs, after a group of masked gunmen stormed domestic broadcaster TC.

The gang interrupted a live broadcast at TC’s studio in Guayaquil and forced staff onto the floor, while the cameras continued rolling.

Reports claim a cameraman was shot in the left while another had their arm broken, as gang members held weapons to staff members’ heads. The BBC reported that all staff were subsequently freed by police.

The attack followed days of violent unrest in the country, which came after the leader of the Choneros gang, Adolfo Macías Villamar (aka Fito) disappeared from his prison cell.

It remains unclear whether the two events are connected but Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa admitted yesterday that “internal armed conflict” was taking place in his country.

Noboa has mobilised the army to “neutralise” gang-related activity, which he described as “transnational organised crime, terrorist organisations and belligerent non-state actors.”

Ecuador is battling increasing violence amid what appears to be gang activity related to drug cartels looking to secure roots into the US.

The spiralling events come two months since Noboa was elected president following an election that saw his main rival, Fernando Villavicencio.

Villavicencio had previously received death threats from Fito.