Masked gunmen stormed the TC Television studio in Ecuador, disrupting a live newscast and holding staff at gunpoint for about 15 minutes, Associated Press reports.
The armed assailants were seen on air, ordering employees to lie down and aiming guns at them, claiming they couldn’t “play with the mafia” on live television. The attack lasted about 15 minutes before transmission was cut.
No casualties were reported, and all 13 attackers were arrested, facing terrorism charges. President Daniel Noboa declared the country in an “internal armed conflict,” describing the attacks as unprecedented.
The attacks came after a series of attacks, police abductions, and apparent escapes of gang leaders from prison. The government attributed the violence to gangs’ reactions against recent moves, declaring 20 drug-trafficking gangs as terrorist groups.