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Haitian PM Praises El Salvador After Joint Strike on Gang Headquarters
Confirmed
In Short: El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele announced that a joint task force had 'destroyed' what he described as 'the house of Lanmò San Jou and the 400 Mawozo gang's headquarters'.
Nayib Bukele says Salvadoran troops destroyed gang HQ in Haiti • FRANCE 24 English. FRANCE 24 English
Posting on X, Fils-Aimé thanked the Salvadoran military for its commitment in the fight against gangs and expressed his hope for continued collaboration with the UN-backed Gang Suppression Force (GSF) to regain control of the territory.
El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele announced that a joint task force had 'destroyed' what he described as 'the house of Lanmò San Jou and the 400 Mawozo gang's headquarters'. Bukele also posted a video on X, though the BBC noted it could not verify the video or the claim.
Bukele wrote in Creole, 'We have already finished with the gangs in El Salvador, and we can finish with you too,' referring to his country's crackdown on gang violence.
The Salvadoran president said the alleged gang members 'ran away without even trying to fight', and handed over four bodies to special forces in Haiti, stating they were 'not our men'.
Approximately 450 soldiers had been deployed to Haiti as part of the multinational force, according to Haitian newspaper Le Nouvelliste.
Two officials told the AP that El Salvador had deployed 100 special forces soldiers to Haiti to help recover four missing soldiers from the Central American country who recently came under attack by gangs.
The Gang Suppression Force, made up of troops from several nations, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Gang violence has displaced nearly 1.5 million people in Haiti in recent years, with more than 5,700 people killed or injured from January through mid-September and more than 230 people kidnapped, according to the United Nations.
El Salvador's foreign ministry said it would send over 2,000 soldiers to Haiti to rescue missing personnel and support anti-gang security operations.
The GSF said it was continuing operations in coordination with the Haitian National Police (PNH) and other operational partners.
No gang has claimed responsibility for the attack on the Salvadoran soldiers, who were returning from a market to their base when they were ambushed by armed gangs.
Background
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.
What's confirmed
- El Salvador's president posted a video on X of the strikes on a complex he said is the headquarters of 400 Mawozo Haiti's Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé has praised "the commitment of the Salvadorean forces in the fight against gangs" after a joint strike on a house allegedly used by the leader of the 400 Mawozo gang.
- A small contingent of Salvadorean troops has been in Haiti since January 2025 as part of a multinational force deployed to suppress gang violence.
- The BBC has not been able to verify the video posted by Bukele, nor whether the property is indeed the headquarters of the 400 Mawozo, Haiti's largest criminal gang, which is infamous for carrying out kidnappings for ransom.
- Writing in Creole, Bukele said "we kept our promise", adding that the alleged gang members "ran away without even trying to fight".
- El Salvador's President, Nayib Bukele, had earlier announced that a joint task force had "destroyed" what he described as "the house of Lanmò San Jou and the 400 Mawozo gang's headquarters".
- SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Gangs in Haiti opened fire on an armored vehicle over the weekend, leaving four soldiers from El Salvador unaccounted for in the first major attack since an international gang suppression force began operations in the violence-wracked Caribbean country.
- El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele says he has launched a military operation to rescue four Salvadoran aviation technicians kidnapped by gangs in Haiti.
What's still developing
- The armed forces of El Salvador said in a statement Monday that the four aviation technicians were returning to camp when the armored vehicle was attacked with explosives and set on fire.
- Among them was Ana Domínguez, 60, a native of El Salvador living in Long Beach as a lawful permanent resident.
- 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.
- If not, the Salvadoran leader — who drew international attention for his contentious war on his own country's gangs — said it would result in a more powerful operation.
Sources
- BBClink
- Daily Voice Of Asialink
- Militarylink
- BBClink
- Ottumwacourierlink
- Record-Eaglelink
- Rockymounttelegramlink
- Los Angeles Timeslink
- Arabnewslink
- Kenyainsightslink
- Kdhnewslink
- Fbcnewslink
- Haitiantimeslink
- WarpBeat — background on El Salvador's Military Strikes Haitian Gang Headquarters, Leaving 20 Dead link
- FRANCE 24 English — video link
- New York Post — video link
- NBC News — video link
- New York Post — video link
- TRT World — video link
- Firstpost — video link