VOA新闻杂志2024--In Ecuador, Gunmen Take over Live Broadcast

In Ecuador, Gunmen Take over Live Broadcast

Officials in Ecuador say men with face coverings broke into the set of a public television channel in Ecuador waving guns and explosives during a live broadcast on Tuesday.

That led the president to declare that the country had entered an "internal armed conflict."

The men were armed with guns and what looked like sticks of dynamite¹. They entered the set of the TC Television network in Guayaquil during a nationwide news program. The men shouted that they had bombs. Noises similar to gunshots could be heard.

No one died in the attack. Officials later said all the 13 intruders had been arrested and would face terrorism charges.

Officials have not said who was behind the television station attack. They also have not said who was behind a series of other recent attacks.

But the violent incidents follow the escapes from prison of two leaders of Ecuador's most powerful drug gangs.

President Daniel Noboa on Monday declared a national state of emergency. The measure lets officials suspend people's rights and use the military in places like prisons.

The government has not said how many attacks have taken place since Los Choneros gang leader Adolfo Macías was found missing from his low-security prison cell Sunday. He was supposed to be moved to a high-security facility that day.

On Tuesday, Ecuadorean officials announced that another gang leader, Fabricio Colón Pico of the Los Lobos group, had escaped from prison. Colón Pico was captured on Friday as part of a kidnapping investigation². He has also been accused of trying to murder one of the nation's lead prosecutors⁴.

Other attacks have included an explosion near the house of the president of the National Justice Court. On Monday night, four police officers were kidnapped.

Will Freeman is a political expert at the Council on Foreign Relations. He said gangs in Ecuador have assassinated⁵ a presidential candidate and set off car bombs in front of government buildings in the past. But he said Tuesday's events marked a new peak in violence in the country.

Ecuador sits between Peru and Colombia, the world's largest cocaine⁶ producers. In recent years, Ecuador has become a key passage point for cocaine. Much of the violence in the country comes as drug gangs fight each other and the government for control of ports and smuggling⁷ points.

Freeman said that Ecuador's government will have to find ways to control prisons, where gang leaders continue to lead their operations. It might have to consider extraditing some of the top criminal leaders to the United States.

Ecuador, a nation of 20 million people, might also have to make judicial⁸ changes to give judges greater safety.

"If these guys can storm a TV station or kill a presidential candidate you as a judge will not go up against them," without promises of safety, Freeman said.

Los Choneros is one of the gangs that officials consider responsible for the increase in violence. It reached a new level of violence last year with the assassination⁹ of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio. Officials say the gang has links with Mexico's Sinaloa cartel.

The whereabouts of Macías are unknown. Prosecutors opened an investigation and charged two guards in connection with his apparent escape. But neither the police, the prison system, nor the federal government confirmed whether the prisoner fled the facility or might be hiding in it.

In February of 2013, he escaped from a high-security facility but was recaptured weeks later.

Words in This Story

dynamite — n. a powerful explosive that is often used in the form of a stick

intruder — n. a person who is not welcome or wanted in a place

prosecutor³ — n. a lawyer who represents the side in a court case that accuses a person of a crime and who tries to prove that the person is guilty

smuggle¹⁰ — v. to move from one country into another illegally and secretly

extradite — v. to send to another state or country for trial

1 dynamite   

n./vt.(用)炸药(爆破)

参考例句：

• The workmen detonated the dynamite.工人们把炸药引爆了。
• The philosopher was still political dynamite.那位哲学家仍旧是政治上的爆炸性人物。

2 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

3 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

4 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

5 assassinated   

v.暗杀( assassinate的过去式和过去分词 )；中伤；诋毁；破坏

参考例句：

• The prime minister was assassinated by extremists. 首相遭极端分子暗杀。
• Then, just two days later, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. 跟着在两天以后，肯尼迪总统在达拉斯被人暗杀。 来自辞典例句

6 cocaine   

n.可卡因，古柯碱（用作局部麻醉剂）

参考例句：

• That young man is a cocaine addict.那个年轻人吸食可卡因成瘾。
• Don't have cocaine abusively.不可滥服古柯碱。

7 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

8 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

9 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

10 smuggle   

vt.私运；vi.走私

参考例句：

• Friends managed to smuggle him secretly out of the country.朋友们想方设法将他秘密送出国了。
• She has managed to smuggle out the antiques without getting caught.她成功将古董走私出境，没有被逮捕。