Haiti: Bukele announces military operation to rescue four Salvadorans kidnapped by gangs

El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele announced Wednesday the launch of a military operation in Haiti to rescue four Salvadoran aviation technicians held by armed gangs, demanding they be released "alive and unharmed" under threat of retaliation.

The four are part of El Salvador's contingent in the Gang Suppression Force (GSF), the multinational mission backed by the UN Security Council to restore security in Haiti. Contact with them was lost Sunday, when heavily armed men ambushed the armored vehicle in which they were returning from buying food at a market in Santo, in the commune of Croix-des-Bouquets, near Port-au-Prince; the vehicle was attacked until it caught fire.

"Our kidnapped men are not combatants. They are aviation technicians who are part of our mission in Haiti... Our main job is to carry out medical evacuations and save lives, not to make war," Bukele wrote on the social network X, where he posted a video addressed directly to gang leaders. "Today's attack is nothing compared to what is coming if you do not release the four hostages alive," he warned, adding: "We already finished off the gangs in El Salvador, and we can finish off yours too."

The GSF reported Tuesday clashes with the 400 Mawozo gang, led by Wilson Joseph, alias "Lanmò San Jou," which operates in the area: several gang members were killed and others wounded, and four members of the force were injured. On Wednesday, residents reported bursts of automatic gunfire, helicopter overflights, drones and armored vehicles in Port-au-Prince, and support helicopters reportedly came under fire.

On Monday, the U.S. envoy to the UN, Mike Waltz, told the Security Council that his country was working to secure the return of the soldiers. Haitian authorities had not commented on the case.

Photo: BavaroNews

Source: BavaroNews