In a city where armed groups now hold much of the ground, four men who spent their working lives keeping machines in the air have become the center of a fear that reaches well beyond Port-au-Prince. El Salvador's president has announced a rescue effort for soldiers taken after gangs fired on their vehicle in Croix-des-Bouquets, and his words carry both promise and warning. The story sits within a longer Haitian ordeal of displacement, kidnapping and a fragile push toward an election that many hope will restore some measure of civic life.
Bukele Vows Forceful Response as Four Salvadoran Soldiers Remain Missing After Haiti Gang Attack
Four Salvadoran soldiers were abducted in Haiti and their whereabouts and condition remain unconfirmed; gang violence has displaced nearly 1.5 million people in Haiti.
No one has claimed responsibility. The four men are still missing.
Mark
Why is this attack drawing so much attention?
Mimi
It's the first major assault on the Gang Suppression Force since it began operating last year, and it hit four Salvadoran aviation technicians who are now missing.
Mark
What has Bukele actually said?
Mimi
That a military operation to rescue them has started, and that a harsher response is coming if they aren't freed alive and well. He told the gangs not to take his word for empty threats.
Luke
But he gave no details. We don't know what the operation is, or whether it's happening inside Haiti, alongside the GSF, or something else.
Mark
Do we know if the men are alive?
Mimi
Not yet. Haitian authorities haven't said they have confirmation.
Luke
Right. The only fixed facts are that they fled a burning vehicle on Sunday and haven't been found. Anything beyond that is unconfirmed.
Mark
Who is responsible?
Mimi
No one has claimed it. The area is held by gangs including Chèn Méchan, Kraze Barye and 400 Mawozo.
Luke
Worth noting that's who controls the area, not who carried out the attack. The reporting doesn't link a specific group to it.
Mark
And the election?
Mimi
Haiti is preparing its first general election in over a decade, so the timing matters, though whether it's affected is still open.
El Pulso
- Four Salvadoran aviation technicians have been missing since gunmen fired on their armoured vehicle in Santo, and their fate remains unknown.
- President Bukele has announced a rescue operation and warned gangs of a harsher response if the men are not freed alive.
- Haiti's government calls the soldiers' release an absolute priority, while the UN-backed force fights on in the same community and urges residents to stay indoors.
- No group has claimed the attack, and gangs estimated to control about 70 percent of Port-au-Prince keep the capital in a state of siege.
- The abduction threatens to unsettle preparations for Haiti's first general election in over a decade, and the men's survival is still unconfirmed.
In a city where armed groups now hold much of the ground, four men who spent their working lives keeping machines in the air have become the center of a fear that reaches well beyond Port-au-Prince. El Salvador's president has announced a rescue effort for soldiers taken after gangs fired on their vehicle in Croix-des-Bouquets, and his words carry both promise and warning. The story sits within a longer Haitian ordeal of displacement, kidnapping and a fragile push toward an election that many hope will restore some measure of civic life.
On Wednesday, President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador announced on X that a military operation was under way to rescue four Salvadoran soldiers taken by gangs in Haiti. He offered no details about what the operation involves, but his message was unmistakably hard: gangs should not mistake his words for empty threats, and El Salvador, having already brought its own gangs to heel, could do the same in Haiti.
The four men are aviation technicians serving with the UN-backed Gang Suppression Force. They have been missing since Sunday, when gunmen opened fire on their armoured vehicle in Santo, in the Croix-des-Bouquets area near Port-au-Prince. The men fled as the vehicle burned, and since then nothing has been confirmed about where they are or how they are. It is the first major attack on the force since it began operating last year.
Haiti's government called their release an absolute priority and said officials were working to strengthen operations alongside the force, though it was unclear whether anyone had confirmed the men are alive. The force is still fighting in the neighbourhood and has told residents to stay indoors. No group has claimed responsibility, though the area is controlled by gangs whose leaders are already under UN and US sanctions.
The abduction lands in a country where gangs hold much of the capital and where nearly 1.5 million people have been driven from their homes. It also arrives as Haiti prepares for its first general election in more than a decade, a process that now faces a new uncertainty. For now, the central questions remain the simplest and the heaviest: whether the four men are alive, and what comes next.
On Wednesday, President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador announced on X that a military operation was under way to rescue four Salvadoran soldiers abducted by gangs in Haiti. He gave no details of what the operation involves.
The four men are aviation technicians serving with the United Nations-backed Gang Suppression Force, or GSF. They have been missing since Sunday, when gangs opened fire on the armoured vehicle carrying them in the Santo area of Croix-des-Bouquets, in the Port-au-Prince region. The men fled the vehicle as it burned, and nothing has been confirmed about them since. It was the first major attack on the force since it began operating in Haiti last year.
Bukele, who is known for his harsh crackdown on gangs at home, warned that a more forceful response would follow if the men were not released alive and well. Addressing the gangs he holds responsible, he wrote: "Do not take our word for empty threats." He added that El Salvador had already finished with the gangs in its own territory and could finish with them in Haiti too.
Haiti's government issued a statement on Wednesday evening calling the release of the soldiers an "absolute priority." It said a meeting at the prime minister's office had assessed the interventions under way and considered measures to strengthen operations in close collaboration with the force. It was not immediately clear whether Haitian authorities had received any confirmation that the Salvadorans are alive. A GSF spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for details. The force is still fighting gangs in the community where Sunday's attack took place and has told residents to stay indoors.
No one has claimed responsibility. The area is controlled by gangs including Chèn Méchan, Kraze Barye, led by Vitel'Homme Innocent, and 400 Mawozo, led by Lanmo Sanjou. Both named leaders have been sanctioned by the UN and the United States.
The attack comes as Haiti prepares for its first general election in more than a decade, and it shows how much ground the gangs hold: they are estimated to control about 70 percent of Port-au-Prince. El Salvador is one of several contributing countries, alongside Chad, Jamaica and Guatemala, in a force with more than 2,000 troops on the ground.
The wider toll is heavy. According to the UN, gang violence has displaced nearly 1.5 million people in Haiti in recent years. From January through mid-September this year, more than 5,700 people were killed or injured and more than 230 were kidnapped.
The immediate questions are whether the four men are alive, what Bukele's rescue operation consists of, and how Haitian authorities and the GSF respond. Whether the attack disrupts preparations for the election is also unclear.
Citas Notables
Do not take our word for empty threats. We have already finished with the gangs in El Salvador, and we can finish with you too.— President Nayib Bukele, on X
The release of the abducted soldiers is an absolute priority.— Haiti's government, in a news release
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Politics & Governance