Crimeupdated 1h ago2 min read
Nayib Bukele Launches Haiti Rescue Operation After Gangs Hold Four Salvadoran UN Force Members
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Four Salvadoran troops abducted after gang ambush near Port-au-Prince. Bukele announced a military operation to retrieve them unharmed.
Save coverage image
A wider view of the story
Explore source coverage 3 source types
Directory totals describe our source library, not outlets checked for this story.
Hostage rescue in Haiti
Haitian gangs held hostage four Salvadoran members of an international UN-backed security force, El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele said Wednesday as he launched a military operation to bring them back unharmed. Bukele said, "Today, we have launched a military operation to rescue them," while he did not provide further details about the operation or identify the group holding the Salvadorans hostage. El Salvador’s military and the UN Gang Suppression Force said earlier this week that intense fighting limited access to the area where the four Salvadorans went missing.
Security officials said the four Salvadorans went missing on Sunday after they leapt from a burning armored vehicle that was ambushed by armed gangs on the outskirts of the capital Port-au-Prince while returning from a market to their base. El Salvador’s President Bukele said the missing men were aviation technicians, not combatants, and he said, "Our mission consists only of pilots and technical personnel, whose primary job is to carry out medical evacuations and save lives, not to wage war."
Abduction condemned by UN
Mike Waltz told the Security Council that the ambush happened as the soldiers were returning to their base from a market on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince, and he said, "We believe four of the soldiers managed to survive, but we still have no news of them." Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for UN Secretary-General António Guterres, said, "We condemn this kidnapping and call for their immediate and safe release." El Salvador’s representative Egriselda López said authorities were trying to determine the whereabouts of the four servicemen and that El Salvador strongly condemned the attack.
The Gang Suppression Force continued its progressive deployment to support the Haitian police, and Jack Christofides told the Security Council there were signs of reduced gang influence in areas where the force operates. Christofides also said, "Hostilities against our force rose from 2 to 15 in a single month," as gangs continued to challenge the mission.
What the incident changes
El Salvador’s Armed Forces said it was maintaining operations to establish contact with the service members and determine their location after an ambush against their armored vehicle in Haiti. The Armed Forces detailed that, "During the attack, the criminal groups used firearms and explosive devices, triggering intense armed clashes," and it said the armored vehicle ended up burning. The Armed Forces reported that helicopters were deployed to support the service members and that the aerial intervention caused the criminal groups to retreat, while the aircraft were also attacked.
The incident also highlighted a discrepancy in public reporting, as EFE reported five Salvadorans missing while the Salvadoran institution referred to four aerotechnicians. The sources also tied the hostage case to a wider security and political context in Haiti, where the Gang Suppression Force had only about 2,000 of the 5,500 personnel planned and where Haitian authorities postponed the December elections again indefinitely.