El Salvador has dispatched special forces to Haiti in response to the disappearance of four Salvadoran soldiers who went missing after a gang ambush while serving with a UN-backed force. The deployment was confirmed by officials, with troops arriving in Haiti to assist in search and security operations.
A contingent of approximately 200 Salvadoran soldiers reached Port-au-Prince on Thursday and Friday, according to a security source who spoke to AFP under condition of anonymity. They are working in close collaboration with the Haitian National Police and other operational partners in the Plaine du Cul-de-Sac area, urging local residents to maintain a safe distance from the ongoing operations, as stated by the Gang Suppression Force (GSF).
The four soldiers disappeared last Sunday after their armored vehicle was ambushed by gangs while they were returning to their base from a market. U.S. envoy to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, reported that the attackers employed heavy gunfire and explosives against the vehicle and indicated that there is a belief that the soldiers may have survived the attack.
El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele responded to critics of the military deployment, specifically addressing concerns about the dangers posed by heavily armed gangs in Haiti. “We have never listened to them, and we are not going to start now,” Bukele stated on X. He emphasized that the missing soldiers were aviation technicians, not combatants, and called for their immediate release.
In an alarming message directed at the gang leaders, Bukele warned that the attack on the soldiers signifies a larger retaliation if their safe return is not secured. “We have already finished with the gangs in El Salvador, and we can finish with you too,” he asserted, underscoring his administration’s ongoing crackdown on gang violence in his home country.
El Salvador’s security measures have resulted in the arrest of around 92,000 individuals, primarily young men, many of whom remain detained without charges. The government’s approach involves a significant security crackdown, including a maximum-security prison designed to combat narco-gang influence.
Haiti has been grappling with escalating violence from gangs, which have intensified killings, kidnappings, and child recruitment in the past years. The political situation has also worsened, with Haitian authorities recently postponing elections that were originally scheduled for December. The country has not seen elections since 2016, and the assassination of its last president in 2021 has left a power vacuum.
The GSF mission, aimed at bolstering the overwhelmed local police, is in the process of deployment with a planned total of 5,500 personnel, while currently only 2,000 troops from six contributing countries are on the ground in Haiti.
