In context | The step by step of the explosion of violence in Ecuador

On January 9, armed men entered a public television channel in Ecuador and threatened the workers present. Days before, alias 'Fito', one of the most important bosses in the country escaped from one of the maximum security prisons. In 2023, the murder of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio already denoted a wave of violence existing in the country. The degradation of the prison system, captured by the constant riots and clashes between criminal gangs, seems to be extending its tentacles outside the prisons. How did Ecuador get to the point of declaring a “state of war”? Our journalist Patricio Peralta shares the context with us to understand the situation.