Hostage crisis at Ecuador’s TV station ends

Security officials have freed TV station employees that were held at gunpoint by criminal gangs

The hostage crisis at a TV station in Ecuador’s largest city, Guayaquil, has ended with all assailants detained and captives rescued, national police chief Cesar Augusto Zapata Correa announced on Tuesday evening.

Masked gunmen invaded the headquarters of TC Television earlier that day, interrupting a live broadcast and taking journalists and other employees captive. The assault took place amid the national emergency declared by President Daniel Noboa in response to prison riots and attacks by gang members that swept the country on Tuesday.

Heavily armed security forces quickly arrived at the scene and entered the TV station building, detaining 13 assailants and recovering “weapons, explosives and other evidence,” Zapata Correa said. He added that all hostages were freed. He did not report any casualties.

El operativo policial en @tctelevision dejó 13 aprehendidos, armas, explosivos y otros indicios.

Se liberaron a los rehenes y se puso a buen recaudo a los trabajadores.

Los causantes serán puestos ante la justicia para que sean sancionados por los actos terroristas. pic.twitter.com/9KEXWvDfzZ

— GraD. César Augusto Zapata Correa (@CmdtPoliciaEc) January 9, 2024

“The perpetrators will be brought to justice in order to be punished for their terrorist acts,” the police chief wrote on X (formerly Twitter), vowing that law enforcement “will not allow violent actions to threaten order and peace.”

READ MORE: Ecuadorian TV crew taken hostage as camera rolls (VIDEO)

A video posted to social media shows police escorting detainees out of the building.

🚨🇪🇨#BREAKING: Footage of police escorting arrested cartel members out of the Ecuadorian Television studio. https://t.co/4LHe4d9s3O pic.twitter.com/7to25mVIus

— Censored Men (@CensoredMen) January 9, 2024

The freed employees were filmed hugging their loved ones and praying outside the TV headquarters.

🚨🇪🇨 Video of some of the freed hostages meeting their loved ones ♥️ pic.twitter.com/vJZDrU16be

— Censored Men (@CensoredMen) January 9, 2024

At least eight people were killed and two were injured in Guayaquil on Tuesday, Mayor Aquiles Alvarez said at a press conference. President Noboa earlier authorized the military to neutralize criminal gangs he described as “terrorist organizations and belligerent non-state actors.”