Latin America·Haiti
El Salvador sends more than 2,000 troops to Haiti to find four missing soldiers
PORT-AU-PRINCE —
Depth
Dig five layers into this story — from what happened to the full picture.
L1What happened
The foreign ministry said Bukele told Haitian PM Alix Didier Fils-Aime of the "robust deployment," a "large-scale operation" "supported by various countries and international organisations."
L2Who’s affected
Four Salvadoran air force technicians ambushed in an armoured vehicle in gang-controlled Croix-des-Bouquets; their families; Haitians in gang-held areas. The UN says more than 5,700 people were killed in gang violence in Haiti this year.
L3Why it’s quiet
Analysis · OVERLOOKED Haiti coverage in the U.S. is sporadic, and this landed amid the midterms and Iran war.
L4Deeper impact
Bukele said one returned corpse was a child's and another wore a different country's uniform. He had threatened on X to wipe out Haiti's gangs, replicating his crackdown at home, if the Salvadorans were not released. No gang has claimed responsibility.
L5Full context
The UN Security Council expanded the GSF's powers in October last year, but the force has struggled to enter gang areas; gangs control much of Port-au-Prince. Violence worsened in the political vacuum after President Jovenel Moïse's 2021 assassination.
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Original reporting
This is an OVERLOOKED summary of the reporting above. Facts and figures come from the linked sources. Everything here is a fact unless it is labelled otherwise. Support this work.
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