El Salvador has sent over 2,000 soldiers to Haiti following the abduction of four of its troops by gangs during a roadside attack.
President Nayib Bukele mandated this military surge to locate the missing soldiers and assist local forces combating armed groups, as reported by the BBC. The troop deployment has since expanded to nearly 2,500, according to the Miami Herald.
The four soldiers, who served as aviation technicians with the United Nations-backed Gang Suppression Force, were ambushed on October 18 in Croix-des-Bouquets while returning to base from a market, as stated by the Associated Press (AP).
Bukele has labeled the missing men as hostages and vowed to bring them back safely, the AP reported.
A non-governmental organization subsequently presented four severely burned bodies as those of the missing soldiers. Bukele dismissed this assertion, claiming that one of the bodies belonged to a child and another wore the uniform of a different country.
Pèp ayisyen, Nou prèske fin deplwaye sòlda nou yo ak ekipman nou yo sou tè Ayiti. Sa a se pa yon operasyon kont pèp ayisyen an, ni yon envazyon peyi Ayiti. Nou pa yon gwo pisans. Nou pa gen okenn enterè ni pou nou vin domine pèp ayisyen an, ni pou nou mete men sou richès Ayiti. Nou se yon peyi modès k ap devlope. Sèl sa nou vle, se pou kat teknisyen avyasyon nou yo tounen lakay yo. Epi n ap bay gang yo yon leson, gang sa yo k ap fè pèp ayisyen an soufri, ki touye moun pèp la renmen yo, k ap anpeche l viv yon lavi nòmal, lib, san laperèz. Se prèske nou menm sèl k ap peye pou operasyon sa a. Menmsi nou resevwa yon ti èd lojistik nan men kèk lòt peyi, se ak pwòp ti kès nou n ap kouvri 90% nan depans yo. Sa koute nou chè, men nou te aprann nan pwòp soufrans nou: jistis ak lapè pa gen pri. Nou te pase nan menm soufrans Ayiti ap travèse jodi a. Nou te viv yon beny san ki te pi terib toujou pase sa pèp ayisyen an ap sibi kounye a. Nou konnen sa sa vle di: viv nan laperèz, pa fè politisyen konfyans, pa kwè okenn moun ki pwomèt l ap ede w. Paske pèsonn pa t vin ede nou, e moun ki te vini yo pa t gen bon entansyon nan kè yo. Men nou te rive chape anba sa. Apre 200 lane soufrans, finalman n ap viv nan lapè, e jodi a nou se peyi ki gen plis sekirite sou kontinan an. Nou pa vin ann Ayiti pou nou touche lajan, paske pèsonn pa peye nou pou sa. Nou vin ann Ayiti pou nou goumen kont mechan yo. Men sa m ap mande nou: fè nou konfyans, lapriyè sèl vrè Bondye a, epi mande L pou L geri Ayiti. “Lè sa a si pèp ki pote non m lan lapriyè nan pye m, si yo soumèt devan mwen, si yo pran chache m ankò, si yo vire do bay vye peche yo t’ap fè yo, m’ap tande yo nan syèl kote m ye a, m’ap padonnen peche yo, m’ap fè peyi a kanpe ankò.” 2 Kwonik 7:14 Ede nou ede Ayiti. Epi lè misyon nou an fini, n ap tounen lakay nou. Petèt jenerasyon Ayisyen k ap vini yo ap sonje nou kòm zanmi ki te vin ede yon lè.
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) October 29, 2026
No gang has officially accepted blame for the attack, though the BBC noted that sources indicated the Chen Mechan gang orchestrated the ambush, with the 400 Mawozo group also participating.
Bukele had proposed in March 2024 to address Haiti’s gang crisis, contingent on support from the UN Security Council and Haiti’s government, along with financial backing from international partners, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP). He stated this week on X that the current mission should not be seen as an invasion and emphasized that El Salvador has no desire to control Haiti or exploit its resources.
Interestingly, Bukele initiated the troop increase without a formal status-of-forces agreement with Haiti, raising legal questions about the troops’ presence, as highlighted by former Haitian defense minister Jean Dorneval.
“They need to have a legal framework or else they are mercenaries,” Dorneval remarked.
This year alone, gang violence has claimed over 5,700 lives in Haiti, according to U.N. statistics referenced by the BBC, a situation exacerbated by the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021.
