How Ecuador descended into gang violence - BBC News

A closer look at what is behind the wave of violence which has engulfed once-peaceful Ecuador.

3 days agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, ReutersImage caption, Armoured vehicles were sent to patrol the streets of Quito's historic city centreBy Vanessa BuschschlüterBBC News Online Latin America editorTerrified journalists being forced to kneel in a TV studio by gunmen pointing high-powered weapons at their heads as the cameras rolled, police officers pleading for their lives after being kidnapped on duty.

The scenes which have unfolded in Ecuador show the extent to which this once peaceful haven in Latin America has descended into violence.

Here, we take a closer look at how Ecuador became involved in what its president has declared an "armed internal conflict".

Ecuador's president, Daniel Noboa, has ordered the armed forces to restore order in the country after days of unrest which saw two gang leaders escape from jail, prison guards held hostage, and explosive devices set off in a number of cities across the country.

In the most dramatic attack, a group of armed men forced their way into the studios of TC Television in Guayaquil, Ecuador's largest city, and tried to force one of the presenters to read out a message live on air.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-67912242?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

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