Ecuador has been plunged into crisis as troops seized the airport and police stormed the Congress, forcing the government to declare a state of emergency and denounce an attempted coup.
150 renegade troops seized a runway at Ecuador's International Airport in the capital of the South American nation.
Dozens of police were protesting against a new law which would strip them of some pay bonuses.
President Rafael Correa, 47, a leftist ally of his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez, swiftly denounced what he called a coup bid, and sought refuge in a hospital after failing to calm tensions in an occupied barracks.
Tear gas was used on the streets of the capital to try to beat back crowds of police protestors, the government declared a state of emergency.
Security Minister Miguel Carvajal told reporters the armed forces 'have received instructions to maintain public order and guarantee the rights of citizens.'
He added that "not all the police are in insubordination" despite the wave of unrest.
Dozens of police units took over government buildings in the country's other two main cities, Guayaquil and Cuenca, and Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino blamed the insurrection on "sectors aiming to overthrow the government."
The unrest, which recalled a coup which overthrew the elected president in Honduras last year, rocked Ecuador's neighbors with many leaders swiftly coming out in his support, while Peru closed their joint border.
President Correa has vowed he will not bow in face of the protests, as the army chief threw his weight behind the Ecuadoran leader and vowed to restore order.
Rafael Correa is a US trained economist was first elected in 2006 promising a 'citizens' revolution' aimed at increasing state control of Ecuador's natural resources and fighting what he calls the country's corrupt elite.
His government alienated international capital markets when it defaulted on $3.2bn in global bonds two years ago. Correa declared the debt 'illegitimate.'
Cash has been tight since then as the country relies on multilateral loans and bilateral lending to meet its international financing needs.
Meanwhile, Brazil has said it was giving its 'total support' to Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa, who said he was facing a coup in his country.
Peruvian President Alan Garcia has ordered that his nation's border be closed with neighbouring Ecuador in response to the coup.
