El Salvador’s president said bodies found in Haiti were not those of Salvadoran soldiers abducted the previous week
El Salvador President Nayib Bukele said remains handed to Salvadoran military teams at Haiti’s airport by an NGO were not those of four Salvadoran aviation technicians reported missing after a gang attack on Oct. 18; he said they included a child. The New York Times reported an aid group said the bodies could be theirs; autopsies were needed.
More context
El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele said Saturday that human remains handed to his military teams at Haiti's airport were not those of four Salvadoran aviation technicians reported missing after gangs attacked them on Oct. 18. Bukele wrote on X that a nongovernmental organization had turned over the remains. He said they included a child, a man considerably taller than Salvadoran military personnel, and someone wearing the uniform of another country's army. An unnamed Salvadoran government official also told The Associated Press that the remains were not those of the missing technicians. The New York Times, citing a humanitarian aid organization, had reported that the four bodies found could be theirs, but said they were severely burned and needed autopsies for identification. El Salvador deployed more than 100 special forces troops to Haiti on Oct. 22 to assist in the rescue.
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Reporting
- ABC News — El Salvador’s Bukele says bodies found in Haiti are not those of missing Salvadorans - ABC News
- News.Az — El Salvador president denies bodies found in Haiti are missing soldiers
- Bozeman Daily Chronicle (with Associated Press) — El Salvador’s Bukele says bodies found in Haiti are not those of missing Salvadorans
- democrata.es — Bukele denies that the remains in Haiti are of his soldiers | Demócrata
- menafn.com — Bukele Denies Remains Found in Haiti Belong to Missing Salvadoran Soldiers
Verifier’s note
These results report Bukele’s statement that the remains found or handed over in Haiti were not those of the missing Salvadorans, matching the proposed event and its timing. The New York Times result predates the statement and reports the earlier belief that the bodies might be the soldiers.