By Zoila Palma: Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has warned Haitian gangs that they could face a stronger military response if four Salvadoran soldiers who went missing following an ambush in Haiti are not returned alive and unharmed.
The soldiers disappeared on October 18 in the Santo area of Croix-des-Bouquets, northeast of Port-au-Prince, while serving with the United Nations-backed Gang Suppression Force (GSF), The Haitian Times report.
Bukele said the four men are aviation technicians assigned to support medical evacuations and save lives, rather than combat personnel.
“To the gang leaders and gang members holding four of our compatriots hostage in Haiti:
The men you kidnapped are not combatants. They are aeronautical technicians who are part of our mission in Haiti, comprised exclusively of pilots and technical personnel, whose primary task is to conduct medical evacuations and save lives, not to fight,” Bukele said.
The soldiers were reportedly abducted while returning from a supermarket, and their vehicle was set on fire during the attack. Their whereabouts and condition remained unknown as search and rescue operations continued on Wednesday.
In a statement posted on X on October 21, Bukele warned the gangs that the ongoing search operation was only a fraction of what could follow if the soldiers were not released. He referenced his government’s crackdown on criminal gangs in El Salvador and urged the kidnappers to return the men safely, warning that further security operations could intensify.
“But I want you to understand something: today’s attack is nothing compared to what will come if you do not return the four to us alive.
And do not mistake our words for an empty threat. We have already eliminated the gangs in El Salvador, and we can eliminate you as well.
You still have time to prevent it,” Bukele added.
Meanwhile, the Haitian government said securing the soldiers’ release was an absolute priority and that all necessary resources were being mobilized.
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