Ecuador: the uncertainty of travelers upon arriving in desolate Guayaquil after a bloody and violent day

Uncertainty. This is the word that describes the common denominator among the few travelers who on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning arrived at José Joaquín Olmedo airport, in the Ecuadorian city of Guayaquilin the midst of a violent day that led the country’s president, Daniel Noboa, to declare the “internal armed conflict”.

“In Ecuador there is a state of exception. People cannot move around at certain times. Contact someone you know to find another airport transportation option. Be careful,” was the instruction spontaneously given by a flight attendant as he accommodated those boarding the only plane that took off nearby at 11pm local time on Tuesday (02am GMT) from Bogotá to the second most important city in the world. country. country. Ecuador.

WATCH: Ecuador: men armed with rifles and grenades explode live on TC Television in Guayaquil

On the screens at El Dorado International Airport, in the Colombian capital, one could read “cancelled” in reference to other flights to the coastal city, which made clear the tense situation that existed in Ecuador.

“First flights canceled in Ecuador: JetBlue cancels its flights from Fort Lauderdale and New York to #Guayaquil”announced an account “dedicated to analyzing aviation and the airline industry” on X (formerly Twitter).

A taxi drives through Guayaquil at the end of the curfew between 11pm and 5am decreed by the government of Ecuador’s president Daniel Noboa. (EFE/Carlos Durán Araújo). (Carlos Durán Araújo/)

Furthermore, a flight from the airline KLM, departing from Amsterdam and ending in Guayaquilstayed in Quito and plans to resume the trip this Wednesday, Ecuadorian media reported.

LOOK: Ecuador: drug trafficking attacks leave at least 10 dead in Guayaquil and Nobol

Other airlines reported that “the operation in the coming days will be subject to the evolution of the public order situation”.

Welcome to Guayaquil

After two hours of flying, from the air Guayaquil She appeared calm as a result of the order given by Noboa the Armed Forces will carry out military actions to restore calm, after an armed group occupied the local public channel for several hours on Tuesday TC Television and that violent acts occurred in the country’s capital, Quito, and in other cities.

Upon landing, José Joaquín Olmedo Airport There were few planes and there was no evidence of an unusual security operation.

“They tell me that you can’t be on the street”Yecenia, a young Venezuelan woman who lives in Ecuador for five years and that he traveled to his country to visit his family at Christmas.

When communicating via WhatsApp with an acquaintance to find out how he could get home during curfew, he commented: “This situation leaves people nervous and not knowing what to do.”

“Today everything was very complicated. It was not easy. “You don’t know what’s going to happen.” reflected an Ecuadorian Migration employee in a report, after hearing the reason for the trip to Guayaquil: “I come for work. I’m a journalist”.

An ambulance passes at the end of curfew in Guayaquil. (EFE/Carlos Durán Araújo).

Outside the airport, some transport service providers informed new arrivals about what had happened.

“What happened on that television channel was meant to scare people. They closed access to the airport for around two hours. I went to work at one in the afternoon and had to wait at a gas station because I couldn’t get through”, described Gabriel, a driver who in eighteen years of service had never experienced anything like this.

This, he added, “had never happened before. What happened in Guayaquil This only happens in movies, but the criminals had no experience. They are pure young people. The police have already caught them.

Chaos erupted yesterday when a commando made up of thirteen heavily armed individuals carrying high-powered rifles, grenades and explosives invaded the public channel TC Televisión de Guayaquil at a time when an informative program was being broadcast live.

The attackers threatened journalists and demanded that they ask the president Noboa Don’t send the police.

Finally, Elite agents entered the facility, arrested the criminals and freed the hostages.

The rescue operation left no victims. However, panic gripped Guayaquil, where at least eight people died and two were injured when hooded men shot at passers-by and vehicles and forcibly took over a supply warehouse.

For this reason, In the early hours of today, the streets of Guayaquil were deserted. On the roads leading from the airport to the nearest hotel area, only one man challenged, walking quickly in the middle of the road, the first state of emergency declared under the Noboa Governmentwhich will govern for sixty days and includes a curfew between 11pm and 5am throughout Ecuador.

Source: Elcomercio