El Salvador’s Bukele deploys troops to Haiti amid gang violence
El Salvador has sent more than 2,000 troops to Haiti to search for four Salvadoran military personnel who were part of an international mission against armed gangs and disappeared after being ambushed on Oct. 18, the BBC reported.
The deployment followed talks between Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele and Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé earlier this week. The troops will also support operations against criminal gangs in Haiti.
The four missing servicemen were air force technicians assigned to the UN-backed Gang Suppression Force (GSF). They reportedly came under attack while returning to their base in an armored vehicle near Croix-des-Bouquets, an area controlled by armed groups. No gang has claimed responsibility for their disappearance.
Bukele, the leader of a small Central American nation, is widely known for his large-scale crackdown on organized crime, which substantially reduced El Salvador’s homicide rate. Responding to the disappearance of the Salvadoran servicemen, he threatened to apply similar tactics to eliminate gangs in Haiti unless the missing soldiers were released.
Pou chèf gang yo ak manm gang yo k ap kenbe kat konpatriyòt nou yo an otaj ann Ayiti: Mesye nou kidnape yo pa konbatan. Yo se teknisyen nan domèn avyasyon ki fè pati misyon nou ann Ayiti, nan kad yon misyon entènasyonal. Misyon nou an gen sèlman pilòt ak pèsonèl teknik, ki gen kòm travay prensipal fè evakyasyon medikal epi sove lavi moun, pa fè lagè. Men, nou te kidnape yo yon fason lach pandan yo t ap retounen apre yo te fin achte manje nan yon makèt nan zòn nan. Se poutèt sa, jodi a nou te lanse yon operasyon militè pou pote yo sekou. Nou gen yon sèl objektif: fè kat konpatriyòt nou yo retounen lakay yo vivan, san okenn mal. Men, mwen vle pou nou menm, chèf gang yo, konprann yon bagay byen klè: atak jodi a pa anyen devan sa k ap vini si nou pa remèt toule kat otaj yo vivan. Epi pa pran pawòl nou yo pou menas san fondman. Nou deja fini ak gang yo nan El Salvador, e nou kapab fini ak nou tou. Nou toujou gen tan pou evite sa. Remèt nou kat konpatriyòt nou yo vivan, san okenn mal, epi tout bagay ap retounen jan sa te ye anvan kidnaping lan. Desizyon an nan men nou.
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) October 21, 2026
Haiti has long struggled with widespread gang violence, which intensified after the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021 and the subsequent power vacuum. According to Amnesty International, armed gangs control approximately 90% of the capital, Port-au-Prince. Residents face widespread violence and shortages of food, medicine and clean water.
Salvadoran military personnel have operated in Haiti since 2024, when the country joined the UN-backed Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS), assisting with medical evacuations. In 2025, the MSS was transformed into the Gang Suppression Force to fight armed groups in Haiti, with Salvadoran technicians supporting the mission. According to the UN, more than 5,700 people have been killed in gang-related violence in Haiti this year.
