Explosion of violence in Ecuador shuts down science

Quito --The explosion of criminal activity that shocked Ecuador this week, including car bombings, shootings, arson, and prison riots, has also shaken the country’s researchers and academics. Universities, as well as schools, government offices, and stores, were suddenly shut down on Tuesday, and scientists had to work from home, cancel fieldwork, and contemplate new security protocols. The events unfolded a day after Ecuador’s newly elected president, Daniel Noboa, declared a nationwide state of emergency when the leader of one of the country’s most powerful drug cartels escaped from prison. Much of the violence erupted in the port city of Guayaquil, where men flashing guns and explosives stormed a live television newscast on Tuesday afternoon. Over the week, police officers have been kidnapped and nearly 180 prison guards and other personnel taken hostage, and at least 16 people have been killed. President Noboa reportedly ordered more than 22,000 troops onto the streets to “neutralize” the drug gangs. As violence spread, officials at the Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral (ESPOL), a public university in the heart of Guayaquil, had to make quick decisions. “We decided not to evacuate [the university] immediately because the city was in complete chaos, but rather we designated safe areas within our campus so that people can wait there in peace while we also provided them with evacuation routes,“ says Carlos Monsalve, ESPOL’s vice-recto...
Source: ScienceNOW - Category: Science Source Type: news