Gangs in Haiti target foreign troops in the biggest attack since a new force began operations

Amelie Bottollier-Depois/AFP/Getty Images

Gangs in Haiti opened fire on an armored vehicle over the weekend, leaving four soldiers from El Salvador unaccounted for in the first major attack since an international gang suppression force began operations in the violence-wracked Caribbean country.

The attack occurred Sunday in Croix-des-Bouquets, a once-peaceful community in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, that is now controlled by violent gangs.

The armed forces of El Salvador said in a statement Monday that the four aviation technicians were returning to camp when their armored vehicle was attacked with explosives and set on fire.

The military noted that the four men managed to flee the burning vehicle and it is working with international forces to “establish contact and determine the location of our military personnel.”

Salvadoran authorities said that helicopters were dispatched to the area but they, too, came under fire as they dispersed armed men in the area.

“Multiple attempts to approach by land and air have been made, but these have been hampered by the intensity of the fighting,” the Salvadoran military said.

The weapons and ammunition gangs are using are not made in Haiti and will continue to find ways to enter the country, Wien-Weibert Arthus, Haiti’s deputy permanent representative to the UN, told the UN Security Council Monday.

“This latest episode is a reminder, as if we really needed one, of the fact that the security challenges in Haiti are complex and complicated,” he said. “We hope that those who are missing will be able to go back to their families unscathed.”

Gang violence has displaced nearly 1.5 million people, a record, across Haiti in recent years, with more than 5,700 people killed or injured from January to mid-September, and more than 230 others kidnapped, according to the UN.

Mike Waltz, the US ambassador to the UN, condemned the attack during the UN Security Council meeting on Haiti.

“We believe the four men survived, but they do remain unaccounted for,” he said. “We will bring you home.”

Waltz said that gangs attacked the armored vehicle with “hundreds of bullets and explosives.”

“To the gangs and gang leaders who carried out this cowardly attack, if you think you’re going to intimidate this coalition into retreat, you have made a terrible mistake,” he said.

The gang suppression force said in a statement that it’s assessing the situation and has advised residents where the attack occurred to remain indoors.

“Gangs are testing the gang suppression force,” Jack Christofides, the force’s special representative, said at the UN Monday as he noted that attacks against the force have recently increased.

He warned that gangs have carried out reprisal killings in some areas following operations by Haitian and international forces, and that they have pushed deeper into places including the community of Kenscoff and the Artibonite region.

“The reality is that we cannot be everywhere at once,” Christofides said.

The area where the armored vehicle was targeted is controlled by gangs including Chèn Méchan; Kraze Barye, led by Vitelhomme Innocent; and 400 Mawozo, led by Lanmo Sanjou. Both gang leaders have been sanctioned by the UN and the US.

Romain Le Cour, head of the Haiti Observatory at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, said that while some gangs have been under pressure since the suppression force was deployed, “others want to show that they can strike back.”

“If these soldiers are indeed being held, the groups gain (an) edge to negotiate and to pressure the security forces,” he said.

In September 2025, the UN Security Council authorized the 5,550-member force to replace a former Kenya-led multinational force that struggled with a lack of funds and resources as it tried to help Haiti’s National Police quell gang violence.

CNN's Nick Paton Walsh accompanies Haitian police as they attempt to reclaim remote villages from gangs, witnessing gunfire and residents rushing back to streets they may soon have to abandon again. Watch the full report on CNN.com/AllAccess .

The gang suppression force has more than 2,000 troops on the ground in Haiti, including soldiers from Chad, Jamaica and Guatemala.

“The force is making a difference with what it has,” Christofides said, adding that authorities have started to see early signs of reduced gang influence and control in certain areas.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack on the Salvadoran troops. It comes as Haiti prepares for its first general election in more than a decade and showcases the power of the gangs that control an estimated 70% of Port-au-Prince.

Carlos Ruiz Massieu, the UN special envoy to Haiti, said at Monday’s meeting that electoral preparations “have reached an unprecedented level of progress.”

He said that more than 35 parties and political groups have registered, along with 3,500 candidates. Among them is former Haitian President Michel Martelly, who was sanctioned in November 2022 by Canada and in August 2024 by the US, which accused him of facilitating drug trafficking and sponsoring multiple gangs.

阿梅莉·波托利尔-德波瓦/法新社/盖蒂图片社

上周末，海地帮派向一辆装甲车开火，导致四名来自萨尔瓦多的士兵下落不明。这是自国际打击帮派部队开始在这个饱受暴力蹂躏的加勒比国家开展行动以来，发生的首起重大袭击事件。

袭击事件发生在周日，地点是海地首都太子港曾经和平的克鲁瓦德布凯社区，该社区现在已被暴力团伙控制。

萨尔瓦多武装部队周一发表声明称，这四名航空技术人员在返回营地途中，他们的装甲车遭到爆炸袭击并被纵火焚烧。

军方指出，这四名男子成功逃离了燃烧的车辆，目前军方正与国际部队合作，“建立联系并确定我方军事人员的位置”。

萨尔瓦多当局表示，他们已派出直升机前往该地区，但在驱散该地区的武装人员时，直升机也遭到了炮火袭击。

萨尔瓦多军方表示：“我们曾多次尝试从陆路和空路接近目标，但由于战斗过于激烈，这些尝试都受到了阻碍。”

海地常驻联合国副代表维恩-韦伯特·阿尔图斯周一在联合国安理会表示，犯罪团伙使用的武器弹药并非海地制造，他们将继续想方设法进入海地。

他说：“这起最新事件再次提醒我们，海地的安全挑战错综复杂，仿佛我们还需要提醒似的。我们希望失踪人员能够平安地回到家人身边。”

近年来，帮派暴力已导致海地近 150 万人流离失所，创下历史纪录。据联合国统计，从 1 月到 9 月中旬，已有超过 5700 人死亡或受伤，另有 230 多人被绑架。

美国驻联合国大使迈克·沃尔兹在联合国安理会海地问题会议上谴责了这起袭击事件。

“我们相信这四名男子幸存了下来，但他们仍然下落不明，”他说。“我们会把你们带回家。”

沃尔兹说，团伙成员用“数百发子弹和炸药”袭击了这辆装甲车。

“对于那些实施这次懦弱袭击的团伙和团伙头目，如果你们以为能吓退这个联盟，那就大错特错了，”他说。

黑帮打击部队在一份声明中表示，他们正在评估情况，并已建议袭击事件发生地的居民待在室内。

“帮派正在试探帮派镇压部队，”该部队特别代表杰克·克里斯托菲德斯周一在联合国表示，他指出，最近针对该部队的袭击有所增加。

他警告说，在海地和国际部队开展行动后，一些地区的帮派进行了报复性杀戮，并且他们已经深入到包括肯斯科夫社区和阿蒂博尼特地区在内的更远的地方。

克里斯托菲德斯说：“现实情况是，我们不可能同时出现在所有地方。”

装甲车遇袭区域由多个帮派控制，包括陈美昌（Chèn Méchan）、维特洛姆·伊诺森特（Vitelhomme Innocent）领导的克雷兹·巴里（Kraze Barye）帮派，以及兰莫·桑乔（Lanmo Sanjou）领导的400马沃佐（400 Mawozo）帮派。这两位帮派头目均受到联合国和美国的制裁。

全球打击跨国有组织犯罪倡议组织海地观察站负责人罗曼·勒库尔表示，虽然自镇压部队部署以来，一些团伙一直处于压力之下，“但其他团伙想要表明他们能够反击”。

他说：“如果这些士兵确实被扣押，那么这些团体在与安全部队谈判和施压方面就占据了优势。”

2025 年 9 月，联合国安理会授权组建一支由 5550 名成员组成的部队，以取代此前由肯尼亚领导的多国部队。这支多国部队在试图帮助海地国家警察平息帮派暴力时，由于缺乏资金和资源而举步维艰。

CNN记者尼克·帕顿·沃尔什跟随海地警方，记录他们试图从帮派手中夺回偏远村庄的行动，他目睹了枪声以及居民们涌回街道的情景，而他们可能很快又不得不再次放弃这些街道。请访问CNN.com/AllAccess观看完整报道。

打击黑帮的部队在海地部署了 2000 多名士兵，其中包括来自乍得、牙买加和危地马拉的士兵。

克里斯托菲德斯说：“警方正在利用现有资源发挥作用​​。”他还补充说，当局已经开始看到某些地区帮派的影响力和控制力有所下降的早期迹象。

目前尚无人声称对袭击萨尔瓦多军队的事件负责。此次袭击正值海地准备举行十多年来的首次大选之际，也凸显了控制太子港约70%区域的黑帮势力。

联合国海地问题特使卡洛斯·鲁伊斯·马西厄在周一的会议上表示，选举准备工作“已取得前所未有的进展”。

他表示，已有超过35个政党和政治团体登记参选，共有3500名候选人。其中包括海地前总统米歇尔·马尔泰利，他分别于2022年11月和2024年8月受到加拿大和美国的制裁，美方指控他协助贩毒和资助多个犯罪团伙。