Bukele Warns Haiti Gangs After Four Salvadoran Aviation Technicians Go Missing
El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele says he has launched a military operation to rescue four Salvadoran aviation technicians who were abducted in Haiti. He is warning the gangs of a stronger response if the men are not returned alive and unharmed.
The four men are members of the Salvadoran contingent in the United Nations-backed Gang Suppression Force (GSF). According to the Associated Press, they have been missing since gangs opened fire on their armored vehicle on Sunday and they fled the burning vehicle in the Santo area of Croix-des-Bouquets, Port-au-Prince. It was the first major attack since the force began operating in Haiti. There has been no word on whether the men are alive.
Bukele broke his silence on the attack on Wednesday in a post on X, written in Haitian Creole.
“Do not take our word for empty threats,” Bukele wrote. “We have already finished with the gangs in El Salvador, and we can finish with you too.” He said El Salvador’s only objective is to bring the four men home alive and without harm. “Today’s attack is nothing compared to what is coming if we do not get all four hostages back alive,” Bukele said.
He also offered the gangs a way out. “Return our four compatriots to us alive, without any harm, and everything will go back to how it was before the kidnapping. The decision is in your hands,” he said.
Bukele did not give details of the operation. It is unclear whether he means the Salvadoran helicopter support already helping the search, or additional troops. He said the men are not combatants. He said the Salvadoran mission in Haiti consists only of pilots and technical personnel whose main job is medical evacuations, “not to wage war.”
Haiti’s government said on Wednesday evening that the release of the men is an “absolute priority.” It said a meeting at the prime minister’s office reviewed the response and the steps needed to strengthen operations with the force. It has not said whether it has confirmation that the men are alive.
The GSF is still fighting gangs in the area and has told residents to stay indoors. It has more than 2,000 troops on the ground. El Salvador is among several contributing countries, along with Chad, Jamaica and Guatemala. The attack comes as Haiti prepares for its first general election in more than a decade. Gangs control an estimated 70 percent of Port-au-Prince.