Ecuador is trapped in the hell of constant violence

A new year and a new chapter has begun in Ecuador, one that those living there perhaps rather wish hadn’t. The escape of a notorious drug lord on Sunday from one of the country’s prisons, and the storming of a live TV broadcast by armed men, reads like a cliched plotline for a narco drama.  ‘Don’t shoot. Please, don’t shoot’, a woman can be heard pleading, while she and her colleagues are held hostage. 

The dramatic incident is part of an eruption of violence that has besieged the South American country in the last few days. When President Daniel Noboa – who’s not even hit two months in the job – declared a two-month ‘state of emergency’ on Monday following the weekend’s prison break, nightly curfews were introduced, and the police and military were mobilised to take control of prisons. Noboa’s intention was to eliminate violence, not encourage it. Yet police kidnappings, torched cars, prison riots – and the terrifying scenario at the TV station – ensued.