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El Salvador's Military Strikes Haitian Gang Headquarters, Leaving 20 Dead
· Confirmed
In Short: El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele announced that his military had destroyed the headquarters of Haiti's 400 Mawozo gang, leaving 20 dead, in an operation aimed at rescuing four missing Salvadoran aviation technicians.
Nayib Bukele praises El Salvador's brutal strikes on Haitian gang compound leaving 20 dead.
Salvadoran troops destroy gang HQ in Haiti, Bukele says. TRT World
El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele announced that his military had destroyed the headquarters of Haiti's 400 Mawozo gang, leaving 20 dead, in an operation aimed at rescuing four missing Salvadoran aviation technicians.
The operation, which took place on Sunday, October 25, 2026, was the first military action by El Salvador on a Haitian target since deploying over 2,000 soldiers to Haiti last month.
Bukele posted a video on X, claiming that the headquarters of Wilson “Lanmò San Jou” Joseph, a leader of 400 Mawozo, was destroyed.
The Haitian Times reported that Haitian police and Salvadoran military forces destroyed a mansion belonging to Joseph, though this could not be independently verified.
The United Nations reported that over 5,700 people have been killed or injured in Haiti due to gang violence between January and September 2026.
Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé thanked the Salvadoran military for their commitment and said the two nations would continue to work together with the UN-backed Gang Suppression Force to regain control of the territory.
Bukele had previously threatened to wipe out Haiti's gangs if they did not release the Salvadoran hostages, and he warned that a more powerful operation would follow if the hostages were not returned alive and unharmed.
The Gang Suppression Force, an international force reorganized in October 2025, focuses on assisting the Haitian National Police, protecting critical infrastructure, and restoring order in urban centers controlled by armed coalitions.
NPR reported that the U.N.-backed force is still fighting gangs in the community where the attack occurred, warning residents to remain indoors.
The Haitian Times noted that neither Haitian authorities nor Salvadoran forces have publicly confirmed the operation’s outcome, and no official photographs or videos showing the property’s condition have been released.
What's confirmed
- Some media outlets reported that Haitian police and Salvadoran military forces destroyed a mansion belonging to 400 Mawozo leader Wilson “Lanmò San Jou” Joseph.
- The reported strike comes amid intensified security efforts against armed groups in the Cul-de-Sac Plain, where Haitian forces and Salvadoran troops have been involved in operations following the disappearance of four Salvadoran aviation technicians in a gang ambush in Santo on Oct. 18.
- “We destroyed the house of [gang leader] Lanmo San Jou and the 400 Mawozo gang’s headquarters,” the right-wing leader wrote.
What's still developing
- El Salvador president says bodies found in Haiti are not those of hostages More than 5,000 people killed or injured in Haiti due to gang violence this year, UN says El Salvador's president threatens Haitian gangs over military hostages 'Super offensive' - we love how we look but AI tried to 'fix' our visible differences The Papers: 'Healey offers cold comfort' and 'A £100 trick or treat?' I earn £30,000.
- El Salvadoran military vehicles arrive in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince El Salvador has deployed more than 2,000 soldiers to Haiti as part of a mission to retrieve four nationals who went missing in the Caribbean country almost two weeks ago.
- Haitian gangs have cemented their influence over the capital and expanded to surrounding regions over recent years off the back of a longstanding political vacuum, widespread extortion and a flow of illegal arms largely from the US.
- The four Salvadorans went missing on Sunday after they leapt from a burning armored vehicle that was ambushed by armed gangs on the outskirts of the capital while returning from a market to their base, security officials said.
- Data released by the UN indicates that between January and mid-September 2026, Haitian gang-related violence resulted in more than 5,700 deaths and injuries, alongside more than 230 reported kidnappings.