A US State Department official said on Tuesday that Washington is “extremely concerned” about the violence in Ecuador, which is now experiencing an unprecedented security crisis, in the context of which a live hostage situation unfolded on a television set.

“We are extremely concerned about the violence and the kidnappings in Ecuador,” the State Department’s top official for Latin America, Brian Nichols, said via X (formerly Twitter).

The US “condemns these brutal attacks”, asserted a representative of the US Foreign Ministry.

“We are in close contact with President (Ecuador Daniel) Noboa and his government” and “we are ready to offer assistance,” Mr. Nichols added.

Earlier yesterday, Mr. Noboa declared his country to be in a state of “internal armed conflict” and demanded the “neutralization” of more than twenty organized crime gangs, mainly engaged in drug trafficking.

He ordered “the mobilization and intervention of the armed forces and the police” to “guarantee national sovereignty and territorial integrity against organized crime, terrorist organizations and non-state combatants” in an executive order he signed.