Ecuador is a country in chaos one step away from civil war: yesterday afternoon a group of armed and hooded men broke into a studio of the public channel, live, in the city of Guayaquil, the epicenter of the violence for months.

President Daniel Noboa declared "internal armed conflict" and "war on narcos", ordering the immediate evacuation of Parliament and all public offices in the capital Quito.

An explosive climate has flared up for days with reports of looting and violence.

In the dramatic images broadcast live, which went around the world on social media, hooded men, dressed in tracksuits, holding grenades and machine guns, took several journalists and technicians hostage , threatening them with death. Many journalists with folded hands beg them to save their lives. After half an hour of panic, the studio lights went out and we could only hear the arrival of the special police forces.

«Please, they came to kill us. God don't let this happen. The criminals are on air,” one of the journalists told AFP in a WhatsApp message.

China has suspended the embassy's activity, while the head of US diplomacy for Latin America, Brian Nichols, expressed his "extreme concern". The United States supports the people of Ecuador. We stand ready to provide assistance to the Ecuadorian government and will remain in close contact with President Daniel Noboa's team."

(Unioneonline)