El Salvador has deployed special forces troops to Haiti to rescue four Salvadoran military technicians kidnapped by armed gangs, as President Nayib Bukele on Friday dismissed warnings about the dangers of the operation and vowed victory.
– About 200 Salvadoran soldiers arrived in Port-au-Prince on Thursday and Friday to assist in the search, according to media reports citing security sources.
– The UN-backed Gang Suppression Force (GSF) confirmed that a Salvadoran contingent arrived Thursday to support ongoing search and security operations in the Plaine du Cul-de-Sac area outside the capital.
– The troops are working alongside the Haitian National Police and other security partners, the force said, urging residents of Santo and surrounding communities to avoid areas where operations are underway.
– The four Salvadoran aviation technicians went missing Sunday after armed men ambushed their armored vehicle in Santo, in the Croix-des-Bouquets commune near Port-au-Prince.
– The attackers opened fire and used explosives, setting the vehicle ablaze. The technicians escaped the burning vehicle but have not been heard from since.
– Haitian authorities have confirmed that the men were abducted, although their condition and whereabouts remain unknown.
– Bukele announced a military rescue operation Wednesday, demanding that the four men be returned alive and unharmed and threatening a more forceful response if they were harmed.
– He said the missing personnel were noncombatant aviation technicians whose primary duties involved medical evacuations.
– His warning drew a response from Wilson Joseph, known as Lanmo San Jou, leader of the Haitian gang 400 Mawozo, which operates in the area and belongs to the Viv Ansanm gang coalition.
– In a video circulated on social media, Joseph displayed large quantities of ammunition and challenged Bukele, saying he would not flee and was prepared to fight Salvadoran forces.
– No gang has publicly claimed responsibility for the kidnapping.
– On Friday, Bukele dismissed warnings that Haiti’s heavily armed gangs posed a greater challenge than the criminal groups his government has confronted in El Salvador.
– “But when God grants us victory, those who say all these things today will change their tune,” he wrote on US social media platform X.
– Bukele also described Haitian gangs as “satanic” and accused them of carrying out human sacrifices, without presenting evidence for the allegation.
– The Salvadoran deployment comes amid escalating clashes between armed gangs and the international security force, which was authorized by the UN Security Council to support Haitian police in restoring security.
– Haiti has struggled with years of worsening gang violence, with armed groups controlling large parts of Port-au-Prince and expanding into surrounding regions.
– The violence has displaced nearly 1.5 million people, according to UN estimates, deepening the country’s humanitarian crisis.