A Haitian security official told Reuters that El Salvador sent about 1,000 soldiers to Haiti after a gang attack left four Salvadorans missing, bolstering a force far below its planned size.
The contingent arrived in several flights following the Oct. 18 attack outside Port-au-Prince, the official said. Bukele said the four missing personnel were air force technicians serving with the United Nations-backed Gang Suppression Force (GSF). Reuters reported that they went missing after escaping a vehicle set ablaze during the assault. The contingent’s commander and deployment length have not been disclosed.
El Salvador had at least 124 troops in the GSF before the attack, according to a United Nations report. The force had about 2,000 personnel one year into its mandate, slightly more than one-third of its planned size. Reuters described its impact on Haitian security as limited.
Reuters reported that armed groups have used extortion and violence to expand their presence in Port-au-Prince and nearby areas. The violence has displaced nearly 1.5 million people and damaged Haiti’s economy and institutions.
Haiti has sought international security support since 2022 despite its difficult history with foreign interventions. Reuters linked the rise in gang violence to the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise and the power vacuum that followed.
Last week, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele said a military operation to recover the four technicians had begun but gave no troop count. EconoTimes previously reported on the recovery operation. Reuters said Bukele’s tough-on-crime policies have broad support in El Salvador. Human rights groups say the policies have come at the expense of due process and amid hundreds of deaths in custody.
A U.S. military official told Reuters that U.S. Southern Command provided C-130 military transport aircraft as part of the effort to bring Salvadoran troops to Haiti. Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader said Monday he was prepared to provide logistical support for the Salvadoran arrivals.
