Blockade briefly stops Pride Parade in downtown Winnipeg
A group of protesters briefly blocked the Winnipeg Pride Parade on Sunday.
A Canadian man living in Ecuador for the last 18 years said he and his family feel highly uncertain and insecure as gang violence in the country escalates.
"We really don't know what the next steps are going to look like from the government's end," Jeff Karram told CTV National News.
He said people in the country are living under an 11 p.m. curfew, shops are closed, classes are cancelled and most people are staying home.
"Everybody in our company is doing home office right now. If there is anybody that has to move around, they are the exception, everybody else is staying at home," Karram said.
In Guayaquil on Tuesday, a TV station was taken over by a group of armed men during a live afternoon newscast. The group, wielding explosives and guns, threatened and assaulted employees of the TC Television network's station for 15 minutes on air.
No one was killed and 13 suspects were arrested, but the violent broadcast stunned much of the region and elicited a wide-ranging government response.
Those taken hostage described moments of terror — one cameraman was shot in the leg, another's arm was broken.
The TV station is 20 minutes from Karram's home.
"With everything that was going on yesterday (Tuesday) in the streets, because there were people unfortunately shot in the streets, there was one gentleman who just an odd bullet unfortunately hit him and killed him," Karram said. "He was shot no more than three minutes from where I work and about 10 minutes from where I live."
More than 2,300 Canadians are registered in Ecuador. Eighteen of them have reached out to Global Affairs Canada in recent days with questions, including around issues related to travel.
Most of Ecuador's population is hiding indoors as gang violence over the control of the drug trade exploded in the South American country. Shootouts, kidnappings and killings continue as police and armed forces roam the streets, their sights set on drug cartels and gang members after Ecuador's President Daniel Noboa declared his country was now at war.
Officials said they have arrested nearly 330 people for alleged acts of terrorism as of Wednesday afternoon, displaying a forceful response aimed at reassuring the country of 18 million people.
In the last five years, gangs vying for control of the drug trade have taken over nearly one fourth of the country's prisons.
Noboa vowed to crack down after his election in November. On Monday he declared a state of emergency after the prison break of drug kingpin Adolfo Macias, also known as Fito. Gangs have taken prison guards and police officers hostage and videos of executions have circulated online.
Karram, originally from Toronto, said he and his wife have discussed moving out of the country altogether as crime worsened over the past two years. However, he said it isn't that simple for him.
"You're looking at somebody like me who is living in Ecuador and you say 'Why isn't that person getting out of there?' But the reality is I've got my work here … all my wife's family is here," he said, adding Ecuador used to be a peaceful place to live.
"Ecuador is such an amazing place, but at the end of the day, security is everything."
Karram said he and his family will leave if the violence turns into a full-blown war, however, "I'm just praying that it doesn't get to that."
With files from The Associated Press
A group of protesters briefly blocked the Winnipeg Pride Parade on Sunday.
Research shows that art experiences, whether as a maker or a beholder, transform our biology by rewiring our brains and triggering the release of neurochemicals, hormones and endorphins.
Ryan Reynolds this week unveiled arguably the most anticipated and sure-to-be coveted merchandise tied to his upcoming 'Deadpool' sequel: the movie’s novelty popcorn bucket.
Former U.S. president Donald Trump said he is 'OK' with serving potential jail time or being under house arrest following his historic conviction on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
A brief break during Wednesday's city council meeting in Saskatoon nearly cost the city dearly.
During the pandemic, the Ontario government started to hand out cash to parents to help offset the cost of at-home learning while schools were shuttered.
Eight people, including four children, have second- or third-degree burns as a result of an incident at a home in Saint-Constant, Que. south of Montreal, the Coopérative des techniciens ambulanciers de la Montérégie (CETAM) reported on Saturday.
Media magnate Rupert Murdoch, 93, has married for the fifth time, his corporation, News Corp, confirmed Sunday.
South Korea said Sunday it’ll soon take retaliatory steps against North Korea over its launch of trash-carrying balloons across the border and other provocations.
Car 14 is a luxury passenger car that once made regular runs from London to Port Stanley starting in 1917.
A hefty donation by a renowned local activist to the University of Winnipeg has created what is believed to be the most comprehensive two-spirit archives in all of Canada.
Leanne Van Bergen discovered a skulk of 10 baby foxes, and two mothers, had made themselves at home on her property in Beausejour.
An 81-year-old Waterloo, Ont. woman thought she’d never ride a horse again after a brain bleed led to severe physical complications.
A CP24 camera caught the moment a driver frantically got out of her car as it was being dragged by a truck on Avenue Road Wednesday afternoon.
Prince Edward Island is celebrating its first-ever International Day of Potato on Thursday.
The president of Covered Bridge Chips in New Brunswick is hoping to have his factory rebuilt for late 2025 following a devastating fire last year.
Students and staff at Winnipeg’s Westwood Collegiate had a unique problem to solve this month; how do you lead ducks to water from the school’s courtyard when 12 of them can’t fly yet?
Debby Lorinczy remembers her father as an amazing person and as a man who also made an amazing discovery.