On January 9th 2024, a day after President Daniel Noboa of Ecuador declared an “internal armed conflict,” an armed group crashed into the site of a TV studio, while cameras captured the whole incident and live hostage, shocking many viewers. 

With Noboa’s declaration, the police were quick to respond and according to CNN News, the police confirmed that all armed men involved were in custody and all faculty under hostage were alive. A TV anchor, Jorge Rendon, described how the armed men entered the studio to force the anchors to say a message on behalf of the group. The state of emergency issued by President Noboa will last for 60 days until all disturbances caused by gangs have been reduced and strictly controlled. 

CNN reported that in the cities in Ecuador, vehicles were set on fire and the intervention of security guards confronting an armed group, who were attempting to enter a hospital facility, in the city of Guayaquil.

DW News issued that with the declaration by President Noboa designated “22 criminal gangs and cartels terrorist organizations and non-state warring parties’” and “authorized the military to move against them under United Nations international humanitarian law.”

DW News reported that this escalation is not the first for Ecuador, considering the fact this comes months following the assassination of Presidential Candidate, Fernando Villavicencio, who announced his plan to crack down on organized crime and ongoing corruption. 

Police were on the search for a gang leader, Adolfo Macias, known as “Fito,” according to CNN News. Macias is head of a large gang organization in Ecuador, which has been linked to drug trafficking in Mexico and the United States and tied with high-profiled cartels in the region. 

For an in-depth look at the conflict and how it got to this point, Check out the AtlanticCouncil’s video that was conducted following President Daniel Noboa’s declaration.