El Salvador Sends 2,000 Troops to Haiti to Recover Four Missing Soldiers

El Salvador deployed more than 2,000 soldiers to Haiti this week to retrieve four national servicemen who vanished nearly two weeks ago. President Nayib Bukele notified Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime of the move earlier in the week, according to a statement released by the Salvadoran foreign ministry on Wednesday.

The four missing technicians worked for the Gang Suppression Force, a UN-backed unit operating in Haiti. They were traveling back to their base in an armored vehicle when they were ambushed in Croix-des-Bouquets, an area of the Caribbean island nation controlled by armed groups. No gang has publicly claimed responsibility for the attack.

Salvadorian authorities described the mission as a large-scale operation supported by various countries and international organizations. Bukele stated that the troops would also assist with ongoing security efforts against gangs in Haiti. The statement characterized the deployment as robust, signaling a shift in the country’s engagement with the crisis.

Relations between the two Central American nations have strained following the disappearance. Earlier this week, Haitian officials handed four bodies over to special forces, claiming they belonged to the missing soldiers. Bukele rejected the identification, stating the remains did not match the technicians. He noted that one corpse was a child and another individual wore a military uniform from a different country.

Last week, Bukele posted on X that he would replicate his domestic anti-gang strategy in Haiti if the missing soldiers were not released. He threatened to wipe out the gangs responsible for the ambush. The ultimatum coincided with the approval of expanded powers for the Gang Suppression Force by the UN Security Council in October of last year.

The multinational force has struggled to enter areas where gangs hold sway. According to the UN, more than 5,700 people were killed in gang-related violence in Haiti this year. Armed gangs currently control much of the capital. The political instability in Haiti has worsened since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021, creating a vacuum that local and international forces are attempting to fill.