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El Salvador’s Bukele threatens Haitian gangs over abducted soldiers
Al Jazeera • • world
Key Points:
- El Salvador has launched a military operation to rescue four Salvadoran soldiers abducted by gangs in Haiti, with President Nayib Bukele warning of a stronger response if they are not released safely.
- The soldiers, aviation technicians with the UN-backed Gang Suppression Force (GSF), were attacked and went missing after their armored vehicle was fired upon in Croix-des-Bouquets, Port-au-Prince.
- Haiti’s government declared the soldiers' release an "absolute priority" and held a meeting to strengthen ongoing anti-gang operations in collaboration with the GSF.
- The abduction highlights the significant control gangs have over much of Port-au-Prince, where gang violence has displaced over 1.4 million people and caused thousands of casualties this year.
- The GSF includes troops from multiple countries, including El Salvador, Chad, Jamaica, and Guatemala, working to combat gangs in Haiti ahead of the nation's first general election in over a decade.
