Four Salvadoran air force personnel were returning to their base after buying provisions at a market in Croix-des-Bouquets on Sunday when heavily armed criminal groups ambushed their armoured vehicle. The vehicle was hit by explosives and caught fire. The four fled in the Santo area of Croix-des-Bouquets and went missing.
The area, on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince, is controlled by armed gangs. Groups operating there include Chèn Méchan, Kraze Barye, led by Vitel'Homme Innocent, and 400 Mawozo, led by Lanmo Sanjou. Innocent and Sanjou have been sanctioned by the UN and the US.
On Wednesday, President Nayib Bukele said El Salvador had launched a military operation to rescue the four personnel. He described those abducted as aviation technicians whose work was medical evacuation and saving lives, rather than combat. Bukele said they had been abducted while returning from the market in what he called a cowardly manner.
In a post on X, Bukele said the attack was nothing compared with what would happen if the hostages were not returned alive. He wrote: “Do not take our word for empty threats. We have already finished with the gangs in El Salvador, and we can finish with you too.”
Bukele said El Salvador would return to its previous position if all four were released alive and unharmed.
Haiti’s government said freeing the abducted soldiers was an absolute priority for state authorities. Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, Haiti’s prime minister, coordinated a high-level meeting at his office on Wednesday to review interventions and strengthen operations with the Gang Suppression Force.
Salvadoran helicopters have been deployed in the rescue effort. Attempts to reach the area by land and air have been hampered by fighting and local security conditions. The Gang Suppression Force said it had engaged armed gang elements with helicopter support, while early reports indicated several gang members had been killed.
The four personnel belong to the Gang Suppression Force, a mission approved by the United Nations Security Council. The ambush was the first major attack on the international force since it began operating in Haiti last year. The force has just over 1,500 personnel, far below the 5,550 agents authorised by the United Nations.
Armed gangs control about 85% of Port-au-Prince. More than 5,500 people were killed in gang-related violence in Haiti in 2024, and violence has displaced nearly 1.5 million people in recent years. Carlos Ruiz Massieu, the highest UN representative in Haiti, has warned that gangs are adapting their tactics as security operations intensify and are increasingly turning to hostage-taking.
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