El Salvador’s 2,000 Troops Launch First Ground Offensive Against Haiti’s Gangs

El Salvador has launched its first large ground offensive against Haiti’s armed gangs, two weeks after more than 2,000 of its troops arrived to hunt for four missing Salvadoran technicians.

On Monday, Salvadoran armoured columns — about ten vehicles with heavy machine guns and special forces — moved into the Plaine du Cul-de-Sac, north of Port-au-Prince, targeting the Chèn Méchan and 400 Mawozo gangs around Santo and Croix-des-Missions, according to EFE and Latin Times.

Haitian media cited by EFE reported at least ten gang members killed; Latin Times put the toll at at least a dozen. Médecins Sans Frontières reported 30 civilians wounded by gunfire or explosions.

The ambush that started it all

The four men at the centre of the crisis are aviation technicians serving with the United Nations-backed Gang Suppression Force (GSF). On 18 October, their armoured vehicle was attacked in Santo, in Croix-des-Bouquets about 12 kilometres from Port-au-Prince. El Salvador’s Armed Forces said the vehicle was hit by explosives and caught fire, and that all four men got out before being taken hostage. Salvadoran media named one as 23-year-old Edimar Rosales.

No group has claimed responsibility, though some Haitian outlets blame the Chèn Méchan gang, whose territory includes Santo.

On Tuesday, Haitian police said they had found the burned remains of the truck used by the group in Santo, during a joint operation with the GSF and Salvadoran troops. The four men themselves have still not been found.

A build-up in under two weeks

President Nayib Bukele announced a rescue operation on 21 October to recover the men alive. Troops began arriving the next day. Reuters cited a source putting the figure near 1,000 on 27 October, and on 28 October the Salvadoran government confirmed 2,000 personnel — more than the roughly 1,500 troops in the GSF itself.

The deployment includes five MD 500E and two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters. US Southern Command and the Colombian Aerospace Force reportedly flew troops in on C-130s, with the Dominican Republic providing logistics and intelligence. Bukele says El Salvador is covering 90 per cent of the costs.

The operation also comes as Washington leans on regional partners to carry security burdens, a shift visible in recent US-brokered diplomacy over the war in Ukraine and in South Korea’s naval shift toward the Strait of Hormuz.

A gang leader writes to the UN

As the offensive began, Wilson Joseph — better known as Lanmò Sanjou, leader of the 400 Mawozo gang — wrote to UN Secretary-General António Guterres asking for a UN delegation to mediate. The UN confirmed on Monday evening that it had received the letter but distanced itself from its contents.

Joseph, who carries a US$1 million US reward, first denied involvement, saying Chèn Méchan had killed the men “due to an error”. A gang leader now says the four technicians are dead. Haitian authorities consider them missing, while the Salvadoran government believes they are still alive. Remains handed over on 24 October are being DNA-tested abroad; Bukele says they are not his compatriots.

Who commands the force?

The legal status of the deployment remains unclear. UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters this week that only about 200 of the Salvadoran soldiers fell under the GSF’s jurisdiction — the “vast majority” are not deployed under the force. The GSF is authorised to have 5,500 personnel but remains well below that target.

Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé has assured the public that the foreign forces are operating under Haitian authority. “The international forces did not come to replace the state. They came to support it, to reinforce our capacity,” he said on Tuesday.

Reuters reported that President Trump told Bukele to “do what you have to do” in a call, but said Washington would not supply equipment. Trump added, in comments carried by Infobae, that El Salvador “doesn’t need help”.

A country under gang control

Gangs have grown in power since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021. They now control about 70 per cent of Port-au-Prince and have spread looting, kidnapping and sexual violence into the countryside. Nearly 1.5 million Haitians have been displaced.

Haiti has also hired a private military company run by Erik Prince, founder of Blackwater, to fight the gangs. The Salvadoran deployment is the first major overseas test of Bukele’s anti-gang tactics, honed in a crackdown at home that jailed tens of thousands.

Bukele has said his troops would leave the same day if the four men are handed over alive. On Wednesday he posted videos of Salvadoran soldiers patrolling Haitian streets. “Gather your gangs so we can go fight with them,” he wrote on X, adding that his forces were there to help Haitians free themselves from the gangs.

Whether the offensive frees the four technicians — or drags El Salvador deeper into Haiti’s war — remains an open question.