In a message on his X account on Tuesday, the head of State offered, on behalf of the Bolivarian Republic, “our solidarity” with the Ecuadorian Government and people in the fight against the scourge of organized crime.”

I am confident in the prompt restoration of order and the timely action of justice against the intellectual and material authors of those “unacceptable terrorist events,” Maduro said.

On Tuesday, armed groups stormed a television station in Guayaquil, the university, and sowed terror in the streets.

Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa issued a decree declaring an internal armed conflict and identifying several organized crime groups as terrorists.

Those violent actions came amid a state of emergency declared by Noboa on Monday amd establishing a curfew from 23:00 hours to 05:00 hours, local time.

In Guayaquil, at least eight people were killed and two were wounded in armed attacks, City Mayor Aquiles Alvarez stated.

Ecuador is currently among Latin America’s most violent countries, with more than 7,800 homicides, an unprecedented figure in contrast to the decrease in crime until 2017. jg/iff/mem/jcd