El Salvador confirms over 2,000 troops for Haiti rescue operation

El Salvador’s foreign ministry confirmed on 28 October a deployment of more than 2,000 soldiers to Haiti to retrieve four missing air force technicians and assist security operations against gangs. The statement, covered by the BBC, commits El Salvador to continuing the operation.

The technicians disappeared on 18 October after an ambush in Croix-des-Bouquets, a gang-controlled area outside Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince. They were serving with the United Nations-backed Gang Suppression Force and returning to base in an armoured vehicle. As of 28 October, the four remained missing, and Salvadoran authorities had announced no successful rescue.

A larger force, with arrival details unclear

The BBC described more than 2,000 soldiers as already deployed. Reuters described that number as an intended deployment and said hundreds had already been sent. The ministry has not detailed how many additional soldiers arrived after the earlier report of approximately 1,300.

Cooperation and the continuing search

The Salvadoran ministry said President Nayib Bukele and Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé discussed the rescue, security activities and the Salvadoran mission’s continued presence during a telephone call. Fils-Aimé’s office separately confirmed the call. It said the leaders reaffirmed closer coordination and operational cooperation within the Gang Suppression Force framework, particularly for rescue work and security challenges.

Earlier EFE reporting, carried by elsalvador.com, described the additional Salvadoran deployment as operating outside the force’s mandate. Fils-Aimé’s office has not clarified whether the new troops will join the UN-backed force or operate separately. Bukele has not specified their command structure or length of stay.

El Salvador’s foreign ministry says the search and deployment will continue. It has announced neither an estimated timeframe for the operation nor an end date for the troops' presence.