Bukele deploys 2,000 troops to Haiti to find missing Salvadorans

Summarised from 3 outlets · 4 reports · Updated 5 Nov, 14:54 · Archive

El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele has deployed 2,000 troops to Haiti following the disappearance of four Salvadoran aviation technicians whose armoured vehicle was attacked on 18 October near Port-au-Prince. The men were assigned to a medical unit with the United Nations-backed Gang Suppression Force (GSF) when their vehicle was attacked in Croix-des-Bouquets.

Haitian authorities announced more than two weeks after the attack that they had found the charred remains of the vehicle in the Santo neighbourhood of Croix-des-Bouquets during a joint operation with the GSF and Salvadoran troops. However, police said they found no sign of the missing men. El Salvador says the men were abducted, the Haitian government says they are missing, and one gang leader says they are dead.

Bukele has directed a message to Haiti's criminal groups saying: 'We have already finished with the gangs in El Salvador, and we can finish with you too.' He has stressed that the operation's objective is not to invade Haiti or conduct a long-term occupation, but to recover the four missing Salvadorans alive.

In posts on X, Bukele has posted videos of heavily armed Salvadoran soldiers patrolling streets in Haiti and claimed to show Salvadoran military helicopters opening fire on gangs. 'Gather your gangs so we can go fight with them,' he wrote. He has also told Haitians that Salvadoran forces are there to help them 'free yourselves from the gangs'.

Bukele has instituted a harsh crackdown on crime in El Salvador since being elected in 2019, jailing tens of thousands of people and imposing a state of emergency that rights groups say has suspended many civil rights.

How it is being reported

• El Salvador’s president thinks he can eliminate Haiti’s gangsNayib Bukele has dispatched 2,000 troops to the islandThe Economist · 5 Nov, 13:58
• El Salvador’s gangbuster tries his luck in HaitiThe status quo is so dire Nayib Bukele might improve it. But the risks are hugeThe Economist · 5 Nov, 13:58
• El Salvador’s Bukele touts military intervention in HaitiHaitian police have found a vehicle used by four missing Salvadoran technicians as Salvadoran troops deploy to Haiti.Al Jazeera · 5 Nov, 02:10
• Bukele’s warning to Haitian gang leaders that his forces will 'finish' them as he did in El SalvadorVideo shows Salvadoran attack helicopters repelling gang fighters in Croix-des-Bouquets as Nayib Bukele escalates military operations in Haiti.Fox News · 4 Nov, 18:06

In this story: Nayib Bukele · El Salvador · Haiti · Port-au-Prince · Croix-des-Bouquets

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem · Corrections log