El Salvador Sends 2,000 Soldiers to Haiti After 4 Troops Were Abducted
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Oct 30
El Salvador Sends 2,000 Soldiers to Haiti After 4 Troops Were Abducted
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Oct 30
Summary
More than 2,000 Salvadoran soldiers arrived in Haiti this week after four Salvadoran members of a U.N.-backed force were abducted on Oct. 18, marking one of the largest bilateral military deployments to the country.
The operation has backing from the Trump administration but sits outside the U.N.-backed mission framework, making it an unusual intervention in Haiti's already fragile security crisis.
Nayib Bukele had signaled interest in Haiti since March 2024, when he said El Salvador could "fix it," and the mission could further elevate his international profile if it succeeds.
Experts warn Bukele's hard-line anti-gang model could drive civilian casualties and intensify violence in a country that has already recorded more than 5,000 killings this year.