Haiti Security: El Salvador Deploys 2,000 Troops to Retrieve Missing Soldiers

El Salvador has dispatched more than 2,000 soldiers to Haiti to locate four of its air force technicians who went missing nearly two weeks ago. The Salvadoran foreign ministry announced the deployment on Wednesday, stating that President Nayib Bukele informed Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime of the mission earlier in the week.

The four service members were part of the Gang Suppression Force, a UN-backed unit tasked with fighting organized crime. They were traveling in an armored vehicle when armed groups ambushed their convoy in the Croix-des-Bouquets district, an area of the Caribbean island known for heavy gang presence. No group has formally claimed responsibility for the attack so far.

Bukele stated that the troops will also assist in ongoing security operations against gangs within Haiti. The ministry described the move as a large-scale operation supported by various countries and international organizations. This military intervention marks a sharp escalation in tensions between the two Central American nations following the disappearance of the technicians.

Diplomatic friction increased earlier this week when Haitian authorities handed four bodies to Salvadoran special forces. Officials claimed the remains belonged to the missing soldiers, but Bukele rejected the identification. He noted that one corpse was a child’s and another wore a uniform from a different country. Bukele posted on X last week that he would replicate his domestic anti-gang strategy in Haiti if the Salvadorans were not released.

The Gang Suppression Force received expanded powers from the UN Security Council in October of last year to address worsening violence. The multinational force has faced difficulties operating in areas dominated by armed groups. According to UN data, more than 5,700 people were killed in gang-related violence in Haiti this year. Armed groups currently control much of the capital.

Haiti has endured years of gang violence, a situation that deteriorated following the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, which left a political vacuum in the country. The Salvadoran mission represents the largest recent foreign military deployment to the island.