El Salvador deploys special forces to Haiti after soldiers seized by gangs

El Salvador deployed 100 special forces soldiers to Haiti on Thursday to help rescue four missing soldiers from the Central American country who recently came under attack by gangs, two officials told Associated Press.

The special forces arrived a day after Salvadorean President Nayib Bukele announced a military operation to rescue the four aviation technicians, issuing an ultimatum directly to Haitian gang leaders in Creole.

“We have a single objective: to bring our four compatriots back home alive, without any harm,” Bukele wrote Wednesday on X. “We have already finished with the gangs in El Salvador, and we can finish with you too.”

Bukele said the four hostages – part of the United Nations-backed gang suppression force – were ambushed and abducted on Sunday after going shopping for food.

An official with El Salvador’s government not authorised to speak on the matter said an additional 100 soldiers were going to be deployed to Haiti on Thursday night. The official said Salvadorean authorities were operating under the assumption that the four missing Salvadoreans were still alive.

The Miami Herald first reported the deployment.

The gang suppression force issued a brief statement late Thursday saying that “a contingent” from El Salvador had arrived “to support ongoing search and security operations” where the attack occurred.

Haiti’s government said Wednesday evening that the four missing soldiers were abducted, marking its first comments since the attack that occurred Sunday in Croix-des-Bouquets. Authorities have said the soldiers were travelling in an armoured vehicle that came under fire from gangs that also used explosives.

It was the first major attack since the international gang suppression force began operations, replacing a Kenyan-led force that struggled to help Haitian police quell gang violence given a lack of resources and funds.

Diego Da Rin, an analyst with the International Crisis Group, said he believes that finding the Salvadoreans would be like finding a needle in a haystack.

“It will be almost impossible to find them … unless the gangs agree to hand them over,” he said.

Da Rin said the Salvadoreans were apparently not travelling with the type of security detail needed so deep in gang-held territory.

The attack occurred in territory controlled by the Chen Mechan gang, with the 400 Mawozo gang operating just west of that area, a gang that is much more powerful and has far greater firepower.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, and neither gang has posted about it on social media.

Authorities have been fighting armed men in the area ever since the attack occurred, with the Haitian National Police task force, which includes Vectus Global – the private security firm founded by former US Navy Seal and Blackwater founder Erik Prince – working with the gang suppression force as part of a joint operation. As the heavy fighting in deep, gang-controlled territory continues, residents have been warned to remain indoors.

The attack occurred as the gang suppression force numbered only a little over 2,000 of the 5,500 personnel envisioned.

On Wednesday night, a gang leader known as Krisla who controls an area that is not located near the site of the attack, posted a video in which he mentioned Bukele and the ongoing gun battle.

“They have bigger weapons and more technology than we do, but we’ll fight to the end,” he said. “We didn’t ask Bukele to come here, we didn’t ask Bukele to send soldiers here. Bukele has come here to protect his money at his soldiers’ expense.”

Some of the contractors working with Prince’s Vectus Global are from El Salvador, Da Rin noted.

El Salvador’s presidential office did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment.