El Salvador Sends 2,000 Troops to Haiti for 4 Missing Technicians as Mission Stays Opaque
Updated
Updated · CNN · Oct 29
El Salvador Sends 2,000 Troops to Haiti for 4 Missing Technicians as Mission Stays Opaque
3 articles · Updated · CNN · Oct 29
Summary
More than 2,000 Salvadoran soldiers have been deployed to Haiti, a force Bukele said is nearly in place to recover four missing aviation technicians and "teach a lesson" to gangs.
Bukele said El Salvador will cover 90% of the costs, but the troops' command structure, exact mandate and relationship to the UN-backed Gang Suppression Force remain unclear.
The four technicians disappeared earlier this month after an apparent gang ambush while working with the multinational force in a noncombat role; 100 Salvadoran special forces had already been sent for search operations.
Port-au-Prince residents face a crowded battlefield of gangs, police, foreign forces, vigilantes and contractors, and UN and security experts warn another armed actor could deepen confusion and civilian harm.
The deployment lands as Haiti's crisis keeps worsening: gang violence has displaced more than 1 million people, and presidential elections were postponed again until next year.