Armed men break into a live TV studio as country is rocked by a series of attacks

QUITO, Ecuador (AP):

Armed men have broken into the set of a public television channel in Ecuador as it broadcast live and threatened people as the country reels from a series of attacks, after the government imposed a state of emergency in the wake of the apparent escape of a powerful gang leader from prison.

Men with their faces covered entered the set of the TC Television network in the port city of Guayaquil and shouted that they had bombs. Noises similar to gunshots could be heard in the background.

The channel broadcast live for at least 15 minutes before the signal was cut off. While the transmission was on, the men could be seen on camera while some employees laid down on the floor and someone was heard yelling, “Don’t shoot!”

Ecuador’s police said on X, formerly Twitter, that some units were deployed to the media facilities.

Hours earlier, Ecuadorian authorities had confirmed a series of attacks around the country, including explosions and the abduction of several police officers.

Police reported four officers were kidnapped on Monday night and remained missing, one in the capital, Quito, and three in Quevedo city.

Separately, agents arrested two people for possession of explosives and as suspects in at least one of the attacks in the South American country.

SEVERAL ATTACKS

The government has not said how many attacks were registered in total, but local media reported several, including some in northern cities, where vehicles were set on fire, and others in Quito, including an explosion near the house of the president of the National Justice Court.

Authorities have not said who is thought to be behind the attacks, or if the incidents are part an orchestrated action. The government has previously accused members of the main drug gangs for similar strikes. In recent years, Ecuador has been engulfed by a surge of violence tied to drug trafficking, including homicides and kidnappings.

Ecuadorian authorities reported on Sunday that Adolfo Macías, alias ‘Fito’ and the leader of Los Choneros gang, wasn’t in his cell in a low-security prison. He was scheduled to be transferred to a maximum security facility that day.

His whereabouts were unclear.

Prosecutors opened an investigation and charged two guards in connection with the alleged escape, but neither the police, the corrections system, nor the federal government confirmed whether Macías fled the facility or might be hiding in it.

In February 2013, he escaped from a maximum-security facility but was recaptured weeks later.