President Bukele launches operation and warns gangs as aviation technicians remain unaccounted for following ambush near Port-au-Prince.
El Salvador has deployed special forces to Haiti to help locate and rescue four of its soldiers who went missing after a gang ambush, officials said, as the Central American nation intensifies efforts to recover the men believed held by armed groups.
Around 100 special forces personnel arrived in Haiti on Thursday, according to two Salvadoran officials who spoke to the Associated Press, with another contingent of similar size expected to follow. A spokesperson for the UN-authorised Gang Suppression Force (GSF) confirmed that a Salvadoran contingent had arrived to support ongoing search and security operations in the area where the attack occurred. The Miami Herald first reported the deployment.
El Salvador Launches Operation to Find Missing Soldiers in Haiti:
The four missing men are aviation technicians from El Salvador’s Liberty II Task Force, part of the multinational GSF that is assisting Haitian police against powerful gangs controlling large parts of the capital and surrounding areas. They were ambushed on Sunday in the Santo neighbourhood of Croix-des-Bouquets, on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince, while returning to their base from a market in an armoured vehicle.
Attackers used firearms and explosives, setting the vehicle ablaze. The four managed to escape the burning vehicle, but contact with them was lost, according to statements from El Salvador’s armed forces. Helicopters dispatched to assist came under fire, and subsequent search attempts by land and air were hampered by intense fighting and insecure conditions. Haiti’s government later confirmed the soldiers had been abducted.
President Nayib Bukele announced on Wednesday that El Salvador had launched a military operation to secure their release, describing the men as non-combatant technical personnel whose primary role involves medical evacuations rather than combat. Addressing Haitian gang leaders directly on social media, Bukele demanded they return the four “alive and unharmed,” warning that failure to do so would trigger a far stronger response.
“Do not take our word for empty threats. We have already finished with the gangs in El Salvador, and we can finish with you too,” he said.
Search for Missing Soldiers in Haiti:
The GSF has been conducting days-long search operations that have involved armed clashes, with reports of at least seven gang members killed and four GSF personnel wounded. Salvadoran authorities are operating under the assumption that the four technicians remain alive.
The incident marks the first major attack on the international force since it began operations to confront gangs that have expanded control amid Haiti’s prolonged political and security crisis. The GSF includes personnel from several countries and aims to support the Haitian National Police against groups estimated to dominate much of Port-au-Prince.
As search efforts continue, the deployment underscores the challenges facing the multinational mission and the readiness of contributing nations to respond when their personnel come under threat in one of the hemisphere’s most volatile security environments.