Storming of TV studio in Ecuador: "They were able to bring a country to its knees"

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GUAYAQUIL, ECUADOR
This scene is forever etched in her memory: gunmen stormed the Ecuadorian television station TC during a live broadcast on Tuesday. .

Alina Manrique, TV presenter
"I thought that this was my last day on earth and that I would not see my children again. And that the last thing my children would see of me would be a corpse shot to the head or a body riddled with bullets."

The masked attackers took Manrique and 12 others hostage.

Alina Manrique, TV presenter
"We were holding hands, and I distinctly remember my colleague Marco praying with me. He was close to me. I think we prayed a hundred Lord's Prayers, one after the other."

Employees in mortal fear, live on television: Outside, people could watch the news broadcast break off on TV monitors. In the middle of the day. A special police unit is called in. In the studio, the situation is extremely tense, the criminals are extremely brutal.

Jorge Rendon, TV producer
"They shot one of our cameramen in the leg and broke the arm of another. They fired bullets inside, shot with their weapons. The police were alerted and they arrived within minutes."

The security forces detained 13 attackers. They left behind a whole arsenal of weapons and explosives in the studio. For Alina Manrique, the moment is still elusive:

Alina Manrique, TV presenter
"When the police pulled me up from the ground and told me, 'Calm down, you're alive,' I really felt like a new person. «

The incident came as a direct response to the state of emergency imposed by the Ecuadorian government the day before. Because of gang violence in prisons, several criminal gangs have been declared terrorist organizations – and thus officially targeted by the military.

Alina Manrique, TV presenter
"They chased us, they went after us and finally put us on display. With the clear intention that the whole world should see what they dared to do at two o'clock in the afternoon. They were able to take over a television station and bring 50 journalists, a city and a country to their knees."

According to the police, more than 300 gang members have been arrested since the beginning of the state of emergency.

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