An Ecuadorian news anchor for TC Channel making statements with a shotgun against his neck, while a criminal gang took control of the broadcast live on camera. Photo: TC Channel/The Economist.
The deep crisis of armed violence that has taken Ecuador by storm in recent days—which has resulted in widespread chaos that especially hit the province of Guayas, leading to the government declaring a state of emergency—has left an official toll of at least 14 people dead, several injured, many others kidnapped, and widespread fires and explosions of several vehicles, alongside dozens of detainees.
Late in the night of Tuesday, January 9, members of the security directorate of the Guayaquil mayor’s office confirmed the death of at least eight people, with several injured, vehicles and motorcycles incinerated, and further material damage.
The next afternoon, Víctor Herrera, commander of the police forces in Zone 8—which brings together the cantons of Guayaquil, Durán, and Samborondón de Guayas—reported that the number of intentional homicides registered during these days of emergency in the country has increased to 14 so far, four of which resulted from what is being classified as terrorist acts.
🔴 #Atención | Víctor Herrera, Comandante de la @PoliciaEcuador Zona 8, informa el número de fallecidos durante estos días de emergencia en el país: 14 homicidios intencionales, cuatro sucedieron como actos terroristas; cuatro fallecidos y dos heridos en #Guayaquil. pic.twitter.com/e2EczZRpso
— Radio Pichincha (@radio_pichincha) January 10, 2024
One of the last violent events reported was the explosion of a car in Guayaquil, around midnight on Tuesday. The event, according to the Ecuadorian press, occurred in the sector known as Cooperativa 22 de Abril, on Isla Trinitaria. There, a group of criminals placed an explosive device in a vehicle, in which there were three people, who were killed instantly.
‼️#URGENTE
Nuevo atentado en #Guayaquil. Hace pocos minutos varios sujetos explotaron un carro en la Coop. 22 de Abril, en el sector Isla Trinitaria. Tres personas que se encontraban en el interior habrían fallecido.
▶️ @paultutiven pic.twitter.com/1cICBiYkC4— Ecuadorinmediato (@ecuainm_oficial) January 10, 2024
In the midst of this tense situation, one of the victims has been identified as the Ecuadorian musician Diego Gallardo—also known by his artist name ‘Gulf Air’—who died on Tuesday in Guayaquil, when he was in his vehicle on his way to pick up his son from school. He was allegedly hit by a stray bullet as he passed by an armed confrontation.
LAMENTAMOS MUERTE DEL MÚSICO GUAYAQUILEÑO DIEGO GALLARDO
El músico guayaquileños Diego Gallardo,conocido por su nombre artístico 'Aire del Golfo', falleció la tarde de este 9 de enero, en Guayaquil debido a la incursión de bandas terroristas que operan en el Puerto Principal pic.twitter.com/mukQ3kV2VB— Agenda Cultural de Quito (@NorbertoFuertes) January 10, 2024
The police forces have also confirmed the death of two of their officers: Corporals Alex Taday and Luis Guanotuña. Both, the institution reported, “were vilely murdered by armed criminals” in the town of Nobol, Guayas province.
Live broadcasted takeover of TC Guayaquil by an armed gang. Cartels run Ecuador. https://t.co/WbtlsRIX0y
— Camila (@camilapress) January 9, 2024
The mayor of Guayaquil, Aquiles Álvarez, also reported on Tuesday night that one of the deceased was a driver from his institution.
At the moment, the totality of the material damage caused over the course of Tuesday is unknown, having included prison riots and the takeover of the TC Televisión channel in Guayaquil by armed criminals, an event for which 13 individuals were arrested and are to be prosecuted for terrorism.
Further attacks were directed against a land transportation terminal, shopping centers, and other places as part of a series of violent actions carried out simultaneously by different criminal organizations that operate across the country of Ecuador, all linked to crimes such as extortion, homicides, and drug trafficking, among others.
Arrests and seizure of weapons and explosives
The most recent report published through social media by the Ecuadorian police explains that, so far, they have managed to capture at least 70 people who were allegedly involved in different crimes committed during the chaos and wave of violence that followed.
INFORMAMOS ||
Resultados operativos preliminares, obtenidos tras varias intervenciones ejecutadas a nivel nacional ante atentados y actos de terrorismo. #CompromisoInquebrantable pic.twitter.com/6ccgZ0ZWAC
— Policía Ecuador (@PoliciaEcuador) January 10, 2024
The police and military action also allowed the release of three police officers who had been kidnapped by criminals in the town of Machala, in the province of El Oro. They also seized eight explosive devices, 15 Molotov cocktails, nine firearms, 308 cartridges, six motorcycles, and six cars.
The violent events that have turned Guayaquil into the epicenter of armed violence in Ecuador have worsened in that city following the escape of José Adolfo Macías—alias ‘Fito’—who is the leader of the criminal organization ‘Los Choneros’, from the maximum security penitentiary of that province.
The police and armed forces maintain the operational deployment of over 3,000 agents on the streets of Ecuador, operating under the decrees of state of exception and internal armed conflict. These were announced by President Noboa on Tuesday, alongside promises from the National Assembly that those in uniform will be amnestied as long as they fulfill their duty.
Rafael Correa and President Maduro
Former president Rafael Correa has presented his full support for the decisions taken by current president, Daniel Noboa, in the face of the “internal armed conflict.” Through a video published via social media on Tuesday, Correa said that the country “is living a true nightmare, something unthinkable, unimaginable until now: the result of the systematic destruction of the rule of law, of the errors, of the hatred accumulated all of these last seven years, of which we have been one of its main victims.”
Todo el apoyo, presidente.
El crimen organizado le ha declarado la guerra al Estado y el Estado debe salir triunfador.
Es hora de la unidad nacional.
Reemplace con personal civil o policías retirados a los miles de policías que absurdamente están en puestos burocráticos y… https://t.co/sXwjogT2RM— Rafael Correa (@MashiRafael) January 9, 2024
“Today is a time for national unity. Organized crime has declared war on the state, and the state must prevail, the state must win,” he added in the video. “President Daniel Noboa, [you] have our total and unrestricted support. Please don’t give in. Any errors, our political disagreements, we will discuss later, the day after the victory. The country will win again.”
The same day, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro condemned the violence unleashed by criminal gangs in Ecuador, which he claimed put the security and peace of the South American nation at risk.
The head of state expressed on behalf of Venezuela his solidarity with the people and government of Ecuador, in their fight against “the scourge of organized crime,” stating that he trusts “in the prompt restoration of order and in the timely action of justice against the intellectual and material authors of these unacceptable terrorist acts,” he wrote through a social media post.
(RT) with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/AU
