El Salvador has deployed around 200 special forces soldiers to Haiti to rescue four military technicians kidnapped by armed gangs, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, 23 October.
The reinforcements arrived in two groups of around 100 on Thursday and overnight, joining a search-and-rescue operation launched after Haitian armed gangs ambushed the technicians’ vehicle on Sunday, 18 October, in Croix-des-Bouquets, northeast of Port-au-Prince, the capital of the Caribbean nation.
The Salvadorans were returning from buying food when gunmen fired on their armoured vehicle and tried to blow it up. All four escaped the burning vehicle but disappeared in an area controlled by gangs. Salvadoran and US officials believe they survived, although their whereabouts remain unknown.
Nayib Bukele on X (formerly Twitter): “Muchos mensajes, análisis y comentarios como este, asegurando que las pandillas de Haití no son como las de El Salvador; que son sanguinarias, que están fuertemente armadas, que nadie ha podido vencerlas, que todas las misiones han fracasado, que estamos cayendo en una trampa,… https://t.co/IWjmtXuAZC / X”
Muchos mensajes, análisis y comentarios como este, asegurando que las pandillas de Haití no son como las de El Salvador; que son sanguinarias, que están fuertemente armadas, que nadie ha podido vencerlas, que todas las misiones han fracasado, que estamos cayendo en una trampa,… https://t.co/IWjmtXuAZC
Bukele issued an ultimatum on Wednesday, demanding the hostages’ safe release. ‘We have already finished with the gangs in El Salvador, and we can finish with you too,’ he warned. On Friday, he rejected suggestions that Haiti’s heavily armed criminals were too powerful to confront, describing them as ‘satanic’ and alleging that they practise human sacrifice. According to The Wall Street Journal, his government is also attempting to negotiate the captives’ release before any further escalation.
Certain gang leaders, however, signalled that they would not back down. Wilson Joseph, known as ‘Lanmò San Jou’ and leader of the 400 Mawozo gang, sent a video message directly to Bukele, stating that they ‘have nowhere to go’ and will fight if they have to for survival.
‘If you think your soldiers are just going to walk in here and take over, come and try it. We are standing our ground right here. We are waiting for you, and we are fully prepared to fight you and your troops,’ he concluded.
Joseph’s warning came as the rescue operation escalated into fierce fighting around Croix-des-Bouquets, where Haitian security forces and international troops have been conducting raids against armed gangs.
The newly deployed Salvadoran special forces are reinforcing these operations alongside Haiti’s National Police and the UN-authorized Gang Suppression Force (GSF). According to the GSF, the clashes have left at least seven suspected gang members dead and four of its personnel wounded. Haiti’s government has declared the recovery of the four missing men an ‘absolute priority’.
El Salvador’s participation in the international security mission predates the hostage crisis. The country contributed aviation personnel and medical evacuation capabilities to the previous Kenyan-led mission in 2025. Its parliament renewed authorization for participation in the GSF in September 2026, permitting military personnel, aircraft and equipment to support operations against Haiti’s powerful gangs.
Bilateral ties also deepened in March, when Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé met Salvadoran Vice President Félix Ulloa in Chile. Haiti thanked El Salvador for its military and humanitarian assistance, while officials discussed Salvadoran experience in anti-gang operations and prison management, alongside justice reform, disarmament and reintegration.
Washington has also backed the rescue operation as part of its broader support for the multinational mission. Condemning the ambush at the UN Security Council on 19 October, US Ambassador Mike Waltz declared that America stood ‘shoulder to shoulder’ with El Salvador and pledged Washington’s full support. That commitment comes as the international force continues to struggle with limited manpower, having deployed just over 2,000 of its authorized 5,500 personnel despite facing gangs that control much of Port-au-Prince and have forced approximately 1.5 million Haitians from their homes.
Bukele’s determination in Haiti builds on his reputation for breaking the grip of organized crime in El Salvador, where his sweeping crackdown on MS-13 and Barrio 18 dramatically weakened gangs that had terrorized the country for decades.
‘US Ambassador Mike Waltz declared that America stood “shoulder to shoulder” with El Salvador’
The results have been striking: according to government figures, the number of homicides fell from 2,398 in 2019 to just 82 in 2025, bringing the murder rate down to 1.3 per 100,000 inhabitants. This security transformation has made Bukele an increasingly influential figure in the international fight against organized crime, with his methods attracting interest from countries struggling with similarly entrenched criminal networks.
Beyond his tough-on-crime policies, Bukele has also embraced Christian conservative values, defending traditional marriage, opposing abortion and euthanasia, and removing gender ideology from public schools, making him a frequently cited figure in conservative circles in both the United States and Europe.
The Haiti operation now presents a high-stakes test of that reputation. A successful rescue could strengthen Bukele’s standing as a regional security leader and give El Salvador greater influence in shaping Haiti’s anti-gang strategy. A prolonged hostage crisis or costly military engagement could instead undermine the image of decisive success and expose the difficulties of applying Salvadoran tactics in a country with weaker institutions and fragmented gang-controlled territory.
As of Friday, no rescue had been confirmed.
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