Bukele confirmed a deployment of 2,500 Salvadoran troops to Haiti
El Salvador has deployed 2,500 troops to Haiti, President Nayib Bukele confirmed, after four Salvadoran military-aviation technicians disappeared in an Oct. 18 ambush east of Port-au-Prince. Salvadoran forces launched a ground combat operation against gangs on Nov. 2, killing at least a dozen fighters, the Latin Times reported. The U.N. distanced itself from the buildup, the Miami Herald reported.
More context
The technicians, assigned to the U.N.-backed Gang Suppression Force, were later confirmed by Haiti’s government to have been taken hostage. On Nov. 2, Salvadoran armored units entered Plaine du Cul-de-Sac for El Salvador’s first large-scale ground offensive in Haiti, Latin Times reported. At least a dozen 400 Mawozo and Chèn Méchan fighters died. Bukele said the mission aims to find the technicians and confront gangs; he also confirmed attack helicopters arrived Oct. 29. Salvadoran officials said the operation was coordinated with Haitian interim Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé. The Miami Herald said the U.N. distanced itself from the deployment. Wilson Joseph, head of 400 Mawozo, asked the U.N. to send an international delegation to facilitate dialogue.
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Reporting
- Miami Herald — UN distances itself from El Salvador troop buildup in Haiti | Miami Herald
- Latin Times — Haiti Gang Leader Warns of Reprisals Over Salvadoran Troop Deployment, Appeals to UN
- Latin Times — El Salvador Strikes Haiti's Gangs — Here's What Triggered the First Combat Offensive
- The Wall Street Journal — El Salvador’s President Takes a High-Stakes Gamble Confronting Haitian Gangs - WSJ
Verifier’s note
The Miami Herald reports Bukele’s deployment of 2,500 Salvadoran troops, while Latin Times describes more than 2,000 troops deployed to locate missing personnel and confront gangs, including a reported ground operation against gang groups. The Wall Street Journal independently reports that the rescue mission expanded into a foreign-military campaign confronting Haitian gangs.