Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa may have declared a state of emergency on Monday, yet it appears tensions in the country have only escalated since his now-headline-making decree.


While unrest has been simmering for some time in the South American nation, the instability reached a breaking point on Sunday when Adolfo “Fito” Macías, the leader of the nation’s notorious Los Choneros gang, escaped from his prison cell in the port city of Guayaquil, per the Associated Press.



As Noboa deployed 3,000 police officers and members of Ecuador’s armed forces to find Macías, who was serving a 34-year sentence for crimes including drug trafficking and murder, violence erupted across the nation, chaos defined by explosions, police kidnappings and the siege of a government-owned news station, an incident several terrified viewers saw play out on air while tuning in for an afternoon newscast.



“We get the producer in our earpieces and he says: ‘Please be careful. They’re forcing their way in. They’re robbing us. They’re attacking us,’” news anchor Jorge Rendón told The Guardian of the horrifying ordeal, one that broadcasted live for roughly 15 minutes before the feed was cut.


Though local authorities confirmed they had captured the alleged perpetrators  — “our police units have so far managed to arrest several subjects and evidence linked to the crime,” Ecuadorian police wrote on Twitter — this was far from an isolated incident. From highway shootouts to some dude dressed as the Joker,  here are some of the most harrowing scenes amid Ecuador’s ongoing crisis.