Ecuador's security collapse
Gunmen seize a television studio live on air and a country used to peace declares internal armed conflict.
- When
- Known to
- ± 12 hours
- Era
- Contemporary, Holocene
- Where
- Guayaquil, Ecuador · 2.1894° S, 79.8891° W
After a cartel leader escaped prison, armed men took over a Guayaquil TV station during a broadcast on 9 January 2024. President Daniel Noboa declared an internal armed conflict against 22 named gangs. Ecuador had one of Latin America's lowest homicide rates in 2018 and one of its highest by 2023, transformed by its role in the cocaine route to Europe.