El Salvador Deploys Around 1,000 Soldiers to Haiti Following Disappearance of Four Service Members

Approximately 1,000 soldiers from El Salvador have deployed to Haiti in a series of deployments over recent days, a security official in Haiti confirmed. The deployment follows the disappearance of four Salvadoran members of the UN-backed Gang Suppression Force, who have been unaccounted for since an October 18 gang ambush on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince.

Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele announced a military rescue operation after the four air force technicians leapt from a burning vehicle during the attack while returning to base from a market. Bukele stated that he believes the missing personnel are being held hostage by criminal groups. Prior to this escalation, El Salvador had deployed at least 124 troops to the UN-backed mission, which Bukele previously described as pilots and technicians intended to evacuate injured personnel rather than engage in combat operations.

While the latest troop arrivals mark a major expansion of El Salvador’s military footprint in the Caribbean nation, questions remain regarding the command structure of the new contingent and the duration of their deployment. President Bukele has not publicly disclosed the final number of soldiers he intends to send, and his office did not respond to requests for comment.

The international community has begun providing logistical assistance for the movement of troops. A U.S. military official confirmed that the U.S. Southern Command supplied C-130 military transport jets to help transport Salvadoran forces to Haiti. Additionally, flight tracking data from Flightradar24 showed that an Ecuadorean commercial airline, Aeroregional, scheduled direct flights to Haiti, bridging a route that typically sees no direct air service.

Regional leaders are also responding to the unfolding situation. President Luis Abinader of the Dominican Republic, which shares the island’s sole land border with Haiti, announced during a Monday press conference that his government is prepared to offer logistical support to the arriving Salvadoran forces.

Meanwhile, criminal groups have pushed back against allegations surrounding the missing personnel. No Haitian gang leader has claimed responsibility for the attack, and Wilson Joseph, leader of the 400 Mawozo gang, released videos denying that he is holding the Salvadorans hostage or bearing responsibility for their disappearance.

Haiti has operated without elected leadership for years, leaving local authorities struggling to secure foreign backing to combat armed gangs. These criminal organizations have seized control of large portions of the capital and surrounding regions, fueling widespread violence that has internally displaced nearly 1.5 million people.