Ecuador TV station hostage recounts 'surreal' armed takeover

Workers lie on the floor as hooded and armed people take over a tv studio of Ecuador's TV station TC during a live broadcast, in this still image of a Reuters' recording of the affair of TC signal channel, in Guayaquil, Ecuador, January 9, 2024. Reuters Tv/via REUTERS ECUADOR OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN ECUADOR. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES

GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador (Reuters) - A Ecuadorean journalist who was held hostage by gunmen during the takeover of a Guayaquil TV station and obliged to appear on camera at gunpoint told Reuters on Wednesday the experience was "surreal."

Gunmen stormed a studio at public broadcaster TC on Tuesday afternoon, carrying long-range guns, grenades and dynamite, part of a wave of violence that has prompted President Daniel Noboa to name 22 gangs as terrorist organizations to be targeted by the military.