El Salvador's president threatens Haitian gangs over military hostages

El Salvador's president has remarked he has rolled out a military operation to rescue four air force personnel who have been missing in Haiti since Sunday.

Key points

• More than 5, 500 individuals were killed in gang-related violence in Haiti in 2024.
• They were part of the so-called Gang Suppression Force (GSF), approved by the United Nations Security Council earlier this month, to tackle escalating gang violence in Haiti.
• Haiti has not held elections since 2016, and two weeks ago postponed presidential and legislative elections – scheduled for 13 December – indefinitely.
• The country has been wracked by economic chaos, a political vacuum and increasingly violent gang warfare since its president was assassinated in 2021.
• A statement published by the Armed Forces of El Salvador on Sunday stated the group was ambushed while travelling back to its camp in an armoured vehicle.

Nayib Bukele wrote in a post on X that Wednesday's attack was "nothing" compared with what would happen if all the hostages – who he remarked were not combatants – were not returned alive.

They went missing after being ambushed by "heavily armed criminal groups, " El Salvador's armed forces remarked. The ambush occurred in Croix-des-Bouquets, an area controlled by armed groups.

According to Bukele, the mission consisted of pilots and technical personnel, whose primary jobs were to "carry out medical evacuations and save lives, not to wage war".

His post remarked the Salvadoran military operation's single objective was to bring the four men back home alive.

He continued that if all four were returned alive, without being harmed, "everything will go back to how it was before the kidnapping".

Bukele continued they were kidnapped "in a cowardly manner" while returning after buying food at a market in the area.

Notably, a statement published by the Armed Forces of El Salvador on Sunday stated the group was ambushed while travelling back to its camp in an armoured vehicle. It caught fire after being hit by explosives. So far, no gang has asserted responsibility for the attack.

Salvadoran helicopters were deployed to assist, with multiple attempts to create an approach by land and air hampered by fighting and local security conditions, the armed forces stated.

On Wednesday, before Bukele confirmed the launch of the military operation, the GSF stated it was searching for the four missing personnel after the attack.

It continued that it had "engaged armed gang elements, with helicopter support" and that early reports had indicated that a number of gang members were killed.

Earlier this week, the UN cautioned that Haiti's armed gangs were adapting to intensified security conditions, saying that they were "stepping up reprisals against civilians and extending their reach into rural areas".

For context, the country has been wracked by economic chaos, a political vacuum and increasingly violent gang warfare since its president was assassinated in 2021.

More than 5, 500 individuals were killed in gang-related violence in Haiti in 2024. Armed gangs at present control concerning 85% of the capital, Port-au-Prince.

For now, el Salvador' s president threatens Haitian gangs over military hostages remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.