El Salvador has sent about 1,000 troops to Haiti after four Salvadoran aviation technicians serving with a U.N.-backed force went missing in a gang ambush near Port-au-Prince, increasing the country’s role in the search.
A Haitian security official who spoke anonymously to Reuters said the troops arrived on flights over recent days. Neither government had immediately confirmed the deployment. Its command structure and duration remain uncertain.
The four technicians disappeared on October 18, when armed attackers hit their vehicle in the Santo area outside the capital as they returned to base from a market. The vehicle caught fire, and the men escaped before contact with them was lost. Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele later announced a military operation to find and bring them back.
Reports that four bodies found in Haiti might be the missing Salvadorans were disputed by Bukele. He said the remains did not belong to his personnel. The four men still have not been found.
Haiti’s Gang Suppression Force has about 2,000 members, well below its planned strength of 5,500. It is unclear how the new arrivals will operate within the mission. The deployment comes as gangs extend their influence around Port-au-Prince.
Violence has displaced nearly 1.5 million people. Haitian human-rights advocate Pierre Esperance welcomed the reinforcements. He cautioned that operations must protect civilians living in areas controlled by gangs.