El Salvador Troops Storm Haiti: Bukele Shares Video As People Cheer For Soldiers Fighting Gang Mafia

Summary

The report says Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele shared videos showing Haitian residents cheering Salvadoran troops. It describes the deployment of 2,000 Salvadoran soldiers as a response to the disappearance of four Salvadoran military aviation technicians. They were reportedly attacked in the Croix-des-Bouquets area on October 18 while serving with an international force.

According to the report, Haitian authorities later handed over four bodies, but Bukele’s government said they were not the missing servicemen. Haitian police reportedly found the technicians’ burned vehicle, with no trace of them. The unresolved case has heightened tensions between the two governments.

The report also says some Salvadoran soldiers sought discharge rather than serve in Haiti, citing fear of being killed, but their requests were rejected.

Haitian Prime Minister Alex Didier Fils-Aimé said international forces, including El Salvador’s contingent, were coordinating with Haitian institutions and operating under government authority. He described the mission as support for the state, not a replacement for it, and said operations target gangs rather than civilians. He also thanked Bukele for his support. The report contrasts these assurances with claims that Salvadoran commanders are taking independent control of search sectors.

The deployment is presented as part of a wider effort against gangs that, according to the report, control much of Port-au-Prince. The report raises questions about whether the mission is a narrowly focused search-and-rescue effort or the beginning of a broader foreign-led campaign against gangs, as well as what the deployment could mean for regional security. It says Haiti’s crisis has displaced around 1.5 million people.

Presenters and Contributors

• No presenter or reporter is identified in the subtitles.
• Named contributors or figures mentioned: Nayib Bukele, Alex Didier Fils-Aimé, and Marvin Reyes.