Source:
STRINGER
/
Getty
On
Tuesday
(Jan.
9),
social
media
was
buzzing
with
news
out
of
Ecuador
where
masked
gunmen
stormed
a
TV
station
and
took
hostages
during
a
live
television
broadcast.
According
to
CNN,
the
incident
was
one
of
many
sudden
criminal
atrocities
that
occurred
after
one
of
the
country’s
most
notorious
drug
lord’s,
Adolfo
“Fito”
Macías,
escaped
from
prison
Sunday
(Jan.
7).
Aside
from
the
television
hosts
being
held
captive
on
live
TV,
gunmen
also
kidnapped
police
officers
off
the
streets
and
even
entered
the
campus
of
Guayaquil
University
and
began
taking
students
hostage.
Seeing
how
dire
the
situation
was
becoming
on
the
streets,
Ecuadoran
President
Daniel
Noboa
declared
a
state
of
emergency.
Noboa
had
the
military
take
to
the
streets
to
curb
the
violence
and
sudden
uprising
from
the
criminal
element.
CNN
reports:
In
response
to
the
escape,
Noboa
declared
a
nationwide
state
of
emergency,
and
more
than
3,000
police
officers
and
members
of
the
armed
forces
were
deployed
to
find
Macías.
Following
Fito’s
escape
and
the
declaration,
Ecuador’s
prison
agency
reported
incidents
in
at
least
six
prisons
in
different
provinces
on
Sunday.
Criminal
groups
then
embarked
on
a
wave
of
violent
attacks
in
a
show
of
strength
designed
to
discourage
efforts
to
crack
down
on
their
activities.
At
least
eight
people
were
killed
in
Guayaquil,
Ecuador’s
largest
city
and
also
considered
the
most
dangerous.
Several
police
officers
have
been
kidnapped.
Police
arrested
13
people
for
the
storming
of
the
police
station,
recovering
firearms
and
grenades.
Though
things
seem
to
have
returned
to
normal
at
press
time,
one
can
only
imagine
how
quick
things
can
get
out
of
hand
again
at
any
given
moment
especially
with
“Fito”
still
on
the
lam.
Check
out
the
gunmen
take
over
TC
Televisión’s
studio
below.
Let
us
know
your
thoughts
on
the
situation
in
Ecuador
in
the
comments
section
below.
