The missing air force technicians vanished while operating alongside the United Nations-backed Gang Suppression Force. Friction mounted when Haitian officials returned four bodies they claimed were the soldiers, which President Nayib Bukele rejected after discovering one was a child and another wore a foreign military uniform. Armed gangs currently control vast swaths of Port-au-Prince amid an ongoing political vacuum. The deployment will bolster security efforts following the deaths of over 5,700 people in gang-related violence this year.
Key points
Diplomatic relations between El Salvador and Haiti have grown increasingly strained follo…: Diplomatic relations between El Salvador and Haiti have grown increasingly strained following the botched identification of the missing personnel.
The Salvadoran military presence will supplement the UN-backed Gang Suppression Force in…: The Salvadoran military presence will supplement the UN-backed Gang Suppression Force in confronting armed groups holding the capital.
International security forces continue to face severe operational difficulties when enter…: International security forces continue to face severe operational difficulties when entering territories heavily dominated by local gangs.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
- Published
El Salvador has deployed more than 2,000 soldiers to Haiti as part of a mission to retrieve four nationals who went missing in the Caribbean country almost two weeks ago.
The "robust deployment" was communicated by El Salvador President Nayib Bukele to the Prime Minister of Haiti Alix Didier Fils-Aime earlier this week, the foreign ministry of El Salvador said in a statement on Wednesday.
Bukele said the soldiers would also assist ongoing "security efforts against gangs in Haiti", the statement continued.
Tensions between the two central American countries have escalated over the disappearance of the four air force technicians working as part of a UN-backed anti-gang organisation in Haiti.
The four soldiers with the Gang Suppression Force (GSF) were travelling back to their base in an armoured vehicle when they were ambushed in an area of the Caribbean island nation controlled by armed groups called Croix-des-Bouquets.
No gang has so far claimed responsibility.
The Salvadoran foreign ministry said the "large-scale operation" was "supported by various countries and international organisations".
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