Ecuador has erupted into a ‘civil war’ with cartel thugs after the president ordered the army onto the streets and declared a state of ‘internal armed conflict’.

Crazed criminals have rampaged through the South American country’s cities today after President Daniel Noboa, 36, ordered a state of emergency.

Hooded gangsters seized a state TV news studio today, while a university was attacked and jail guards reportedly executed by prisoners.

Ecuador has been rocked by a series of attacks including explosions and the abduction of several police officers after the government imposed a state of emergency in the wake of the escape of a powerful gang leader from prison.

Adolfo ‘Fito’ Macías, 44, the leader of Los Choneros gang, was found missing from his cell in a low security prison on the same day he was supposed to be transferred to a maximum security facility, on Sunday.

A manhunt is underway for Macías and Los Lobos leader Fabricio Colon Pico, who also escaped prison on Tuesday since his arrest last Friday for alleged involvement in a plot to assassinate Ecuador’s attorney general. 

Peru also declared an emergency on Tuesday along its northern border with Ecuador because of the ongoing violence. 

The US State Department said it was ‘extremely concerned’ by the violence. The British Foreign Office warned against all but essential travel to parts of the country.

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