El Salvador's President Bukele Launches Military Operation to Rescue Four Hostages in Haiti
President Bukele threatens gangs with severe consequences if the four missing Salvadoran air force personnel are not returned alive.
At a glance
- Four Salvadoran air force personnel were ambushed and kidnapped by armed groups in Haiti's Croix-des-Bouquets on Sunday.
- President Bukele launched a military operation to rescue them, threatening severe consequences if they are not returned alive.
- The hostages were part of the UN-approved Gang Suppression Force, with their primary role being medical evacuations, not combat.
El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele has launched a military operation to rescue four air force personnel who have been missing in Haiti since Sunday, threatening severe consequences if they are not returned alive.
The four Salvadoran personnel were ambushed by heavily armed criminal groups in Croix-des-Bouquets, an area controlled by armed groups, while returning after buying food at a market. The attack occurred in a convoy traveling in an armored vehicle that caught fire after being hit by explosives.
The missing personnel were part of the Gang Suppression Force (GSF), a mission approved by the United Nations Security Council earlier this month to tackle escalating gang violence in Haiti. According to Bukele, the mission consisted of pilots and technical personnel whose primary jobs were to carry out medical evacuations and save lives, not to wage war.
In a post on X, Bukele stated that Wednesday's attack was "nothing" compared with what would happen if all the hostages - who he said were not combatants - were not returned alive. He added that if all four were returned alive, without being harmed, "everything will go back to how it was before the kidnapping."
Salvadoran helicopters were deployed to assist, with multiple attempts to make an approach by land and air hampered by fighting and local security conditions. The GSF said it had engaged armed gang elements with helicopter support and early reports indicated that several gang members were killed.
So far, no gang has claimed responsibility for the attack. The UN has warned that Haiti's armed gangs are adapting to intensified security conditions, stepping up reprisals against civilians and extending their reach into rural areas.
Haiti has not held elections since 2016, and two weeks ago postponed presidential and legislative elections - scheduled for 13 December - indefinitely. The country has been wracked by economic chaos, a political vacuum and increasingly violent gang warfare since its president was assassinated in 2021. More than 5,500 people were killed in gang-related violence in Haiti in 2024, with armed gangs controlling about 85% of the capital, Port-au-Prince.
Source: BBC World.
Questions and answers
- Who was kidnapped in Haiti according to El Salvador's president?
- Four Salvadoran air force personnel were kidnapped after being ambushed by heavily armed criminal groups in Croix-des-Bouquets, Haiti.
- What did President Bukele threaten if the hostages are not returned alive?
- Bukele stated that Wednesday's attack was 'nothing' compared to what would happen if all four hostages were not returned alive, and that severe consequences would follow.
- What is the role of the kidnapped personnel in Haiti?
- They were part of the UN-approved Gang Suppression Force (GSF) whose primary jobs were to carry out medical evacuations and save lives, not to wage war.
