Ecuador is shocked wave of violence in recent daysschools and businesses are closed, night curfews are in effect and people are afraid to leave their homes.

Violence continues in Guayaquil, where three bodies were found in a burned-out car and two police officers were killed in the province, home to Ecuador’s largest city.

The president Daniel Noboa launched a military offensive against the gangs. in order to restore order when criminal gangs are holding more than 100 prison employees hostage, and also after armed people broke into a television studio and live on air.

Here is a timeline of the latest events leading up to the crisis.

April 3, 2022 – A prison riot in Cuenca, southern Ecuador, left at least 20 prisoners.

May 9, 2022 – Explosion prison riot between members of rival gangs Los Lobos and R7, resulting in the deaths of more than 40 people.

2023 – The government says 8,008 people died from violence in 2023, more than double the previous year. Authorities note an increase in the scale international drug gangs this is the movement of cocaine produced in South America.

May 17, 2023 – President Guillermo Lasso is postponing elections to avoid possible dismissal and his successor must complete the remaining 17 months of his mandate.

July 25, 2023 – More than 30 prisoners killed in prison Guayaquil, and Lasso sends thousands of troops to regain control of the overcrowded facility.

August 9, 2023 – Presidential Candidate Fernando Villavicenciowho presented an anti-corruption platform, Killed. Villavicencio became known as a journalist exposing the alleged criminal activities of politicians, members of the business community and various gangs.

September 2023 – A wave of violence swept through the Andean country when gangs blew up a bridge. They attack prisons and kidnap guards and police officers.

November 23, 2023 – Noboa, the son of a billionaire businessman, is sworn in as president.. It aims to combat violence through a range of safety measures.

Jan. 7 – Police say gang leader Adolfo Macias escaped from prison ahead of a planned transfer to a maximum security unit, part of an effort to tighten security at the prison. Macias already escaped from prison in 2013.

January 8 – A wave of violence breaks out in at least six prisons, with about 150 guards and prison staff taken hostage by prisoners. Some hostages are later released. Noboa declares a state of emergency.

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January 9 – Violence reached the streets of Ecuador with the killing of two police officers and the kidnapping of seven others. Three prisoners were released.

armed group breaks into a television studio during a live broadcast and holds journalists at gunpoint. More than a dozen people from the group were arrested.

Noboa names 22 criminal groups as terrorist organizations and begins a military offensive.

January 10 – Noboa announces that Ecuador will begin deporting foreign prisonersespecially Colombians, to reduce the prison population.