Schools and stores sat shuttered, many people stayed home and soldiers roamed the streets of Ecuador鈥檚 biggest cities Wednesday, the day after armed men invaded a television station鈥檚 live afternoon newscast and the president told the security forces to wipe out the .
The flashed across the televisions of Ecuadorians for 15 minutes on Tuesday as the intruders threatened and assaulted employees of the TC Televisi贸n network鈥檚 station in the city of Guayaquil. No one was killed and 13 suspects were arrested, but the violent broadcast stunned much of the region 鈥� and elicited a wide-ranging government response.
issued a decree saying his country was in an 鈥渋nternal armed conflict鈥� and designated 20 as terrorist groups that the military had authorization to 鈥渘eutralize鈥� within the bounds of international humanitarian law.
鈥淲e are in a state of war and we cannot give in,鈥� Noboa said during an interview with Radio Canela on Wednesday.
He鈥檇 already declared a national state of emergency Monday after the leader of one of Ecuador鈥檚 most powerful drug gangs . Since Adolfo Mac铆as鈥� apparent escape, Ecuador has seen police officers kidnapped and at least 125 corrections personnel taken hostage inside prisons.
The government said nearly 330 people, including the TC Televisi贸n suspects, had been arrested for alleged acts of terrorism as of Wednesday afternoon. Security forces across Ecuador guarded hospitals, public transit and newsrooms. The government ordered teachers and students to hold classes remotely until Friday.
In the radio interview, Noboa promised to crack down on drug trafficking groups and consolidate peace in the Andean nation of 18 million.
鈥淲e are fighting against terrorist groups made up of more than 20,000 people,鈥� Noboa said. 鈥淭hey wanted to be named as organized crime groups 鈥� but they are terrorists.鈥�
The president warned that judges, prosecutors and officials who collaborated with the gangs would be considered part of a terrorist network.
Even in a country where a last year, the show of force streamed into Ecuadorians鈥� homes and workplaces was unprecedented. The motive for targeting the station remained unclear.
鈥淲e are on air, so you know that you cannot mess with the mafia,鈥� one of the assailants said during the broadcast attack. The words sounded like a warning addressed to Ecuadorian authorities and the nation at large.
Noboa鈥檚 resolve was welcome to many Ecuadorians, who have watched their nation descend into chaos. While wedged between major cocaine producers Colombia and Peru, Ecuador has been comparatively peaceful. But traffickers tired of doing business in more militarized countries have set up shop there.
Humberto Poggi del Salto, 50, a businessman in Guayaquil, urged the government to come down on the armed groups with 鈥渁 firmer hand, to have no mercy, no tolerance or (respect for) the human rights of criminals.鈥�
鈥淧resident Noboa must do what El Salvador did,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he situation has gotten out of control. And it is because of lack of extreme measures.鈥�
El Salvador鈥檚 president, , two years ago suspended constitutional rights to wage an all-out war on violent gangs. Sharp declines in criminal violence since then have made the 42-year-old leader highly popular at home and .
Yet mass arrests of tens of thousands of suspected gang members 鈥� many of them innocent 鈥� and the opening of a controversial 鈥渕ega-prison鈥� have fueled accusations of in El Salvador.
An advisor to Bukele, who asked for his name to be withheld because he was not authorized to speak on the subject, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Ecuador would not be seeing its current levels of violence if it had followed El Salvador鈥檚 example.
Experts tracking criminal groups in Latin America said that while an immediate strong response is needed to show the government is in control, simply militarizing the country may only make things worse in the long term.
鈥淓xtreme policies might seem like the logical consequence we鈥檝e seen,鈥� said Ivan Briscoe, Latin America and the Caribbean director for the International Crisis Group. But 鈥渋f you move to a security policy which is purely based on repression and killing, you鈥檙e going to enter an extremely violent spiral.鈥�
Countries like Colombia and have warred with armed cartels for decades, targeting drug lords as a strategy to take down entire criminal organizations. But warfare has caused such groups to splinter into factions and forced them to adapt, Briscoe said.
Over time, that has made it more difficult for authorities to dismantle criminal enterprises; when one armed group is taken down, five more pop up to take its place, he said.
What needs to happen in the long term, Briscoe said, is for authorities to root out corruption within the government that has allowed gangs to take control of prisons and many port cities, and to create a judicial system that breaks any links between organized crime and law enforcement.
鈥淭o be sent to prison in Ecuador is to be sent to the home of a criminal organization,鈥� Briscoe said.
Juanita C. Francis Bone, a leader of the human rights group Mujeres de Asfalto in the coastal city Esmeraldas, worried that the path Noboa is taking could lead to a criminalization of poorer communities.
Esmeraldas has seen massacres of local fishermen, bodies hanging from bridges by nooses, and rounds of car bombs going off. A normal day there 鈥渋s waking up and fearing that what you鈥檙e hearing aren鈥檛 fireworks, but gunshots.鈥� Francis Bone said.
She said years of government neglect and poverty have fed the ranks of armed gangs with young people who see few options for themselves. More than additional guns on the streets, such Ecuadorians need access to education, health care and jobs, Francis Bone said.
鈥淒eep inequality is always going to be the breeding group for recruiting people into criminal groups. It鈥檚 very hard for someone to speak of peace and security when they鈥檙e starving,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 simply wash your hands of any blame by just saying you鈥檙e going to militarize.鈥�
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