Gunmen attack television station in Ecuador

By James Blears

Terrified TV workers from television channel TC were forced to the ground at gunpoint in the city of Guayaquil.

Their ordeal was broadcast live for fifteen minutes, until transmission was cut.

The gunmen were armed with pistols and waving sticks of dynamite. They left the scene, but not without hostages.

Police have since made thirteen arrests, and the Attorney General has confirmed that those captured will face terrorism charges. 

President Daniel Noboa declared a sixty-day State of National emergency on Monday.

Prison breakouts

This followed the Sunday escape of Los Choneros gang leader Adolfo "Fito" Macias Villamar from La Regional prison in the Capitol Quito, the very day he was to be transferred to a maximum security prison. 

On Tuesday the leader of the Los Lobos gang, Fabio Colon Pico, escaped from a prison in the city of La Bamba, during a mass breakout of forty inmates.

He'd been arrested only last Friday. Seven prison officers were abducted. A video by the captors shows three sitting on the ground, with one forced to read a prepared statement 

President Noboa says the country is wracked by an internal armed conflict. He has mobilized the Armed Forces, who are conducting military operations to quell the unrest. 

In November, Presidential Candidate Fernando Villavicencio was assassinated, following a campaign rally in Quito. Since then, the situation has deteriorated.