Ecuador declares emergency

The state of emergency placed the military in charge of maintaining public order.

Gutierrez, with the military high command standing behind him, announced in a televised address to the nation that under the authority provided by the Constitution, he was dismissing "the judges of the current Supreme Court designated by Congress" in December.

"The measure ... was taken because Congress until now has not resolved the matter of the current Supreme Court, which is generating national commotion and especially in the city of Quito ... which rejects the operation of the Supreme Court," he said.

A state of emergency suspends individual rights, including the right to free expression and public assembly, and allows police to enter private homes without search warrants.