El Salvador sends troops to Haiti to rescue four service members, source says

Patrice Noel/Reuters

El Salvador has deployed troops to Haiti to try to rescue four Salvadoran service members believed to have been captured by Haitian gangs, according to a spokesperson for a UN-authorized multinational security mission in Haiti known as the Gang Suppression Force (GSF).

The missing service members, described as non-combatant aviation technicians that were supporting the GSF mission, were ambushed by gangs on October 18, Salvadoran officials have said.

The GSF has been carrying out a dayslong operation to try to find them. The effort has resulted in armed clashes that have left at least seven gang members dead and four GSF personnel wounded, the GSF has said.

A spokesperson for the security mission confirmed to CNN on Thursday that Salvadoran troops had arrived in Haiti to support the effort.

The Miami Herald first reported the 100-strong deployment. El Salvador has not commented on specific details of the mission.

It comes a day after Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele announced that his country had launched an unspecified “military operation” to rescue the missing men.

Bukele, who has carried out a brutal crackdown on gangs in his own country, warned Haitian gang members that they would face a more severe response if they didn’t release the service members alive.

“And 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,” he said on X.

Gang leader Lanmo Sanjou issued a response to Bukele on Thursday, filming himself with large quantities of ammunition and warning that his group would “fight to stay alive.”

The GSF was established by the UN Security Council in 2025 to help Haiti fight the gangs plaguing the country . According to the resolution adopted at that time, the force consists of 5,500 military or police personnel and 50 civilians from various nations. El Salvador is one of the countries that agreed to provide personnel. Bukele says their primary job is to carry out medical evacuations.

CNN’s Mauricio Torres contributed to this report.

帕特里斯·诺埃尔/路透社

据联合国授权的驻海地多国安全特派团“打击帮派部队”（GSF）发言人称，萨尔瓦多已向海地部署军队，试图营救四名据信被海地帮派俘虏的萨尔瓦多军人。

萨尔瓦多官员称，失踪的军人是支援全球安全部队任务的非战斗航空技术人员，他们于 10 月 18 日遭到匪帮伏击。

加纳安全部队（GSF）已展开数日搜捕行动。GSF表示，行动中爆发了武装冲突，造成至少7名团伙成员死亡，4名GSF人员受伤。

安全特派团发言人周四向 CNN 证实，萨尔瓦多军队已抵达海地支援救援行动。

《迈阿密先驱报》率先报道了此次百人部署行动。萨尔瓦多方面尚未就此次任务的具体细节发表评论。

就在一天前，萨尔瓦多总统纳伊布·布克莱宣布，该国已发起一项未指明的“军事行动”，以营救失踪人员。

布克莱曾在自己的国家对帮派进行残酷镇压，他警告海地帮派成员，如果他们不释放这些军人，将会面临更严厉的报复。

“不要把我们的威胁当回事。我们已经消灭了萨尔瓦多的黑帮，我们也能消灭你们，”他在X频道上说道。

帮派头目兰莫·桑乔周四对布克莱做出回应，他拍摄了一段自己携带大量弹药的视频，并警告说他的团伙将“为生存而战”。

联合国安理会于2025年设立了海地安全部队（GSF），旨在帮助海地打击困扰该国的帮派活动。根据当时通过的决议，这支部队由来自不同国家的5500名军警人员和50名文职人员组成。萨尔瓦多是同意派遣人员的国家之一。布克莱表示，他们的主要任务是执行医疗后送。

CNN的毛里西奥·托雷斯对本报道亦有贡献。