El Salvador Plans Major Haiti Deployment to Find Four Missing Troops

El Salvador will send more than 2,000 soldiers to Haiti in a major rescue operation for four of its military aviation technicians who went missing after an ambush in a gang-controlled area near the capital, Port-au-Prince. The announcement, made by El Salvador’s foreign ministry on Wednesday, sharply expands the Central American country’s military role in Haiti’s long-running security crisis.

President Nayib Bukele discussed the deployment in a telephone call with Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, according to the ministry. The troops are to join the search for the four missing technicians and support security operations against armed gangs that control large parts of the capital and surrounding areas.

FAKTA

• Deployment: More than 2,000 Salvadoran soldiers to be sent to Haiti
• Mission: Rescue four missing Salvadoran military aviation technicians
• Ambush: 18 October, in a gang-controlled area east of Port-au-Prince
• Earlier deployment: About 1,000 Salvadoran troops already sent in recent days, Reuters reported
• Existing force: El Salvador previously had at least 124 personnel with the UN-backed Gang Suppression Force
• Haiti’s crisis: Armed gangs have displaced nearly 1.5 million people; no presidential election has been held since 2016
• Elections: Haiti’s electoral council has now scheduled a first-round presidential and legislative vote for 18 July 2027

The ambush that triggered the deployment

The four technicians were serving with the UN-backed Gang Suppression Force when their vehicle was attacked on 18 October on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince. They have not been accounted for since, and no armed group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Reports said the men leapt from a burning vehicle during the assault.

El Salvador had previously sent pilots and technicians to evacuate wounded soldiers rather than to fight, according to a United Nations report. The United States has provided C-130 military transport aircraft to help move some of the troops, Reuters reported.

A widening security crisis

Haiti’s security situation has deteriorated sharply since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021. Armed groups have expanded their control over neighbourhoods in and around Port-au-Prince through extortion and violent attacks, weakening public security and restricting movement.

Successive transitional governments have repeatedly postponed elections, citing insecurity. The electoral council had scheduled a vote for 13 December but revised the timetable; its new calendar sets the first round for July 2027, followed by a second round and local elections that October.

The UN-backed Gang Suppression Force, meant to help Haitian police and pave the way for a credible vote, has reached only about 2,000 personnel, just over a third of its planned strength, with limited improvement so far.

Concerns for civilians caught in between

Human rights advocates have welcomed the speed of the response but warned that any operation in gang-held areas must avoid harming residents trapped there. Pierre Espérance, head of Haiti’s National Human Rights Defense Network, said not everyone living in gang-controlled areas is a gang member.

For now, San Salvador’s immediate priority remains finding the four missing technicians. More international news is available on the Watan News English homepage.