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After crushing powerful criminal gangs in El Salvador, President Nayib Bukele turned his attention to the Caribbean nation of Haiti, deploying 2,000 troops after four Salvadoran military aviation technicians disappeared following an Oct. 18 ambush near Port-au-Prince.
“We are already done with the gangs in El Salvador, and we can be done with you too,” Bukele wrote in a message on X aimed at criminal groups in Haiti. Bukele stressed that the goal of the operation was not to invade Haiti or carry out a long-term occupation, but to recover the four missing Salvadorans alive.
The disappearance became a national priority for Bukele, who warned Haitian gang leaders that El Salvador was prepared to use overwhelming force if the men did not return alive.
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In a screenshot taken from a video posted on October 29, 2026, soldiers cross the airport tarmac to board a plane after El Salvador deployed thousands of troops to Haiti, days after four Salvadoran members of a U.N.-backed force disappeared in a gang ambush in Comalapa, El Salvador. (Document via Reuters)
The aviation technicians were assigned to a medical unit within the United Nations-backed Gang Suppression Force (GSF) in Haiti when their armored vehicle was attacked in Croix-des-Bouquets. The Haitian National Police announced Tuesday, more than two weeks after the attack, that they had found the charred remains of the vehicle in the Santo district of Croix-des-Bouquets. However, police said they had found no trace of the missing men.
El Salvador says the men were kidnapped, the Haitian government says the soldiers are missing and a gang leader says they are dead.
In an article on Tuesday
“Dessalines liberated Haiti, but some people who were on his side betrayed him and killed him,” Bukele said. “These traitors still exist in Haiti.”
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Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele joined the annual National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C., warning attendees that violent gang members in his country have a documented history of worshiping Satan. (Alex Pena/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Bukele also reposted a video of a helicopter engagement in Croix-des-Bouquets.
“Gangs attacked GSF soldiers coming from Chad,” he writes. “We arrived quickly and repelled the attackers with our attack helicopters.”
Bukele has the support of President Donald Trump, who, when questioned by reporters at Mar-a-Lago on Halloween, confirmed he had spoken with the Salvadoran president.
“He said he had a big problem with Haiti,” Trump said. “They killed some of his men. I said, ‘You run your country. You have to do what you have to do.'”
Unlike previous foreign interventions, Bukele’s deployment enjoys the support of the Haitian transitional government.
“The international force is not there to replace the state,” Haitian Prime Minister Didier Fils-Aimé said Tuesday in his first remarks on the deployment. “They are here to support us.”
Fils-Aimé added that Bukele “understands our struggle. … He came to stand alongside the Haitian people.”
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An armored personnel carrier of Haiti’s UN-backed Gang Suppression Force (GSF) patrols an area after El Salvador announced a rescue mission for four GSF air force members missing after a gang ambush in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, October 23, 2026. (Patrice Noël/Reuters)
The operation has drawn criticism from human rights advocates and gang leaders, who warn that a military escalation could worsen the suffering of civilians. The UN says at least 5,700 people have been killed or injured by gang violence in Haiti since January 1 as security forces struggle to contain the violence.
The UN also said El Salvador’s deployment was separate from the GSF and warned that El Salvador must respect applicable international law.
One of these gang leaders is Wilson Joseph, known as “Lanmò Sanjou”, leader of the powerful 400 Mawozo gang. He blamed rival gang Chen Mechan for carrying out the ambush and claimed the Salvadorans were dead, he told The Associated Press.
Joseph also sent a letter to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, requesting UN mediation and warning that Bukele’s “vengeful remarks, expectations and threats… will lead to an escalation of violence and a logic of reprisals, of which the Haitian people would be the first victims.”
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An armed member of the G9 et Famille gang patrols a roadblock in the Delmas 6 neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, March 11. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
Joseph was indicted by the United States in 2022 on hostage-taking charges related to the 2021 kidnapping of 17 missionaries, including 16 Americans, and remains subject to a reward of up to $1 million for his arrest.
Bukele has rejected these calls, accusing gang leaders of trying to use civilians and international human rights concerns as a shield to preserve their power and avoid accountability. Bukele said the negotiations have only prolonged the crisis that has devastated Haiti for years.
After years of being one of the most violent countries in the world, dominated by powerful gangs including MS-13, El Salvador launched an unprecedented crackdown in 2022 under a state of emergency. Authorities made tens of thousands of arrests, ultimately arresting more than 90,000 suspected gang members.
Supporters credit the strategy with bringing homicide rates to historic lows and restoring public safety. Critics accuse Bukele’s government of human rights violations, arbitrary detentions and erosion of due process guarantees.
Salvadoran soldiers return to a base after El Salvador deployed thousands of troops to Haiti in response to the disappearance of four Salvadoran members of a U.N.-backed force in a gang ambush, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, October 30, 2026. (Patrice Noël/Reuters)
The question now is whether this model can be exported to Haiti, where gangs control large parts of Port-au-Prince and exert influence over major transportation routes and neighborhoods. Despite years of international intervention, security conditions have continued to deteriorate.
The GSF is struggling with manpower shortages and operational limitations, operating below the strength mandated by the Security Council, leaving the Haitian government unable to reassert full control over much of the capital.
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“We can help you defeat them, but we are not your enemies,” Bukele wrote Tuesday. “We must stand up, take back control of our communities and put under our control those who make us endure all this pain, all this suffering. We are here at your side… Haiti will be free.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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