El Salvador sends 2,000 troops to Haiti to rescue four missing soldiers

El Salvador has dispatched a force of more than 2,000 troops to Haiti in an effort to recover four missing soldiers. President Nayib Bukele conveyed this "concentrated deployment" to Haiti's Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime recently. The Salvadoran soldiers will also aid the ongoing security efforts against gangs in Haiti. The tension between the two Central American nations has risen due to the disappearance of the four air force technicians who were part of a UN-backed anti-gang organization in Haiti.

The four GSF members were en route back to their base in an armored vehicle when they were ambushed in an area of the Caribbean island nation under the control of armed groups. So far, no gang has taken responsibility for the ambush. Despite the "large-scale operation" being supported by various countries and international organizations, El Salvador's foreign ministry claims the bodies handed over by Haiti do not match the missing servicemen.

Bukele asserts that one of the corpses is a child's and another is wearing a uniform from a different country. Last week, Bukele warned on X that he would "wipe out" Haiti's gangs if they did not release the Salvadorans. In October 2022, the UN Security Council expanded the powers of the GSF to combat the surge in gang violence in Haiti.

Over 5,700 individuals were killed in gang-related violence in Haiti this year, and armed gangs exert control over much of the capital.