El Salvador President Nayib Bukele deployed more than 2,000 soldiers to Haiti to locate four nationals who disappeared nearly two weeks ago. The four air force technicians were working with the Gang Suppression Force, a UN-backed organisation, when they were ambushed in an armoured vehicle.
The attack occurred in the Croix-des-Bouquets area, a region of the Caribbean island nation currently controlled by armed groups. Bukele described the mission as a "robust deployment" intended to support ongoing security efforts against gangs in Haiti.
The foreign ministry of Salvador stated that the large-scale operation received backing from international organisations and various countries. Haitian authorities handed over four bodies to special forces, claiming they belonged to the missing servicemen, though no gang has claimed responsibility for the incident.
Bukele stated that the bodies did not match the missing personnel, noting that one corpse was a child and another wore a different country's military uniform. The president warned he would replicate actions taken in Salvador if the Salvadoran nationals are not released.
In 2025, the UN Security Council granted the Gang Suppression Force expanded powers to address the violence that has killed more than 5,700 people this year. The current instability in Haiti follows the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.
