President of El Salvador Nayib Bukele announced on Wednesday the launch of a military operation in Haiti to rescue the four Salvadoran Air Force personnel who went missing during a weekend ambush by local violent gangs.
Bukele, in a social media post written in Haitian Creole, detailed that the four Salvadoran aviation technicians are being held hostage by gangs and are not combatants, as El Salvador’s mission in Haiti as part of the U.N. Security Council-approved Gang Suppression Force (GSF) consists of pilots and technical personnel tasked with carrying out medical evacuations and saving lives, “not to wage war.”
“However, they were kidnapped in a cowardly manner while returning after buying food at a market in the area,” Bukele’s message reads in part. “That is why, today [Wednesday], we have launched a military operation to rescue them. We have a single objective: to bring our four compatriots back home alive, without any harm.”
Armored police vehicles that are part of the Gang Suppression Force (GSF) patrol the Tabarre neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, October 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
The Salvadoran president emphatically warned the gang leaders to “understand one thing very clearly: today’s attack is nothing compared to what is coming if we do not get all four hostages back alive.” Bukele said that his words should not be taken as empty threats, noting what happened to El Salvador’s violent gangs before affirming, “we can finish you, too.”
“We still have time to avoid this,” Bukele said. “Return our four compatriots to us alive, without any harm, and everything will go back to how it was before the kidnapping.”
“The decision is in your hands,” he concluded.
Bukele, and the Salvadoran Armed Forces, have not publicly disclosed further details on the operations at press time.
On Saturday, a GSF vehicle was ambushed by Haitian gang members near Santo, a village located in the Croix-des-Bouquets commune northeast from Port-au-Prince. According to information detailed on Monday by El Salvador’s Armed Forces, the four technicians were aboard the ambushed vehicle and had no choice but to flee after the heavily armed gang members opened fire and threw explosives, causing the vehicle to catch fire.
According to information disclosed to Le Nouvelliste this week, the four missing officials are believed to have been kidnapped by the deadly Chen Mechan (“Mean Dogs” in Haitian Creole) gang. The BBC observed on Thursday that no group had so far claimed responsibility for the attack.
Bukele’s stern warning to the Haitian gangs came hours after the Gang Suppression Force and Haiti’s National Police confirmed the deployment of a security operation seeking to breach into Plaine du Cul-de-Sac, the areas where, according to Salvadoran outlets, the four missing technicians are believed to be held hostage. Local residents of Plaine du Cul-de-Sac affirmed to Le Nouvelliste on Wednesday evening that they have been forced to stay indoors, schools have been closed, and main access has been barricaded.
The Haitian National Police detailed that the ongoing operations have so far resulted in the deaths of several gang members as officers and the GSF continue to execute joint efforts toward eliminating the gang’s checkpoints and prevent further episodes of kidnapping and abuse against the locals.
In an official press release, the office of Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé stated that the kidnapping of the four Salvadoran nationals is a top priority for Haitian state authorities. In the statement, the Prime Minister’s Office emphasized that the government is “fully mobilized” and intends to assert the authority of the state against the violent gangs “with the utmost firmness.”
“In light of the gravity of this act, the State reaffirms its authority and determination. Security forces are continuing their operations with resolve to secure the release of the kidnapped soldiers and protect human lives,” the statement read in part.
“The Government remains fully committed and intends to carry out these operations until they are successfully concluded. It will ensure that all necessary measures are taken to secure the release of the kidnapped soldiers and uphold the authority of the State,” the text continued.
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
