A high-stakes rescue operation is underway in Haiti after four Salvadoran air force service members deployed to a UN-backed security mission were ambushed and kidnapped by heavily armed criminal gangs, triggering a stern warning from El Salvador’s president Nayib Bukele.
The four missing personnel, who are non-combat pilots and technical specialists, disappeared Sunday following the attack in Croix-des-Bouquets, a suburb of Port-au-Prince that is fully controlled by armed gang factions. According to official statements from El Salvador’s armed forces, the group was ambushed while traveling back to their base camp in an armored vehicle after purchasing food from a local market. The vehicle was struck by explosive devices during the attack and caught fire. Bukele described the abduction as a cowardly attack on personnel who were in Haiti to carry out medical evacuations and save lives, not to engage in combat.
The Salvadoran troops are part of the newly authorized UN-backed Gang Suppression Force (GSF), which received United Nations Security Council approval earlier this month to address the catastrophic surge in gang violence that has plunged Haiti into a state of ongoing collapse. On Wednesday, Bukele confirmed via a post on X that a dedicated military rescue operation had officially launched to bring the four hostages home alive. He warned that the Sunday ambush paled in comparison to the consequences El Salvador would deliver if the captives were not returned unharmed, adding that the full operation would stand down and return to normal operations immediately if all four personnel were released safely without injury.
Local security conditions have complicated rescue efforts: armed clashes between gangs and security forces have blocked multiple attempted approaches by both land and air, despite Salvadoran helicopters being deployed to support the search. Before Bukele’s official announcement of the full-scale rescue mission, GSF commanders confirmed that search operations were already underway, with GSF units engaging gang factions with helicopter support. Early operational reports indicate that multiple gang members have been killed in the early stages of the search and clearance operation. To date, no armed group has claimed responsibility for the abduction.
The kidnapping comes amid a rapidly deteriorating security and political crisis across Haiti. Haiti has been stuck in a state of political vacuum since the 2021 assassination of former president Jovenel Moïse, with widespread economic collapse and non-stop gang warfare pushing the country to the brink of failure. No national elections have been held since 2016, and just two weeks ago, the transitional government indefinitely postponed the presidential and legislative elections that had been scheduled for December 13. According to latest UN data, more than 5,500 people have been killed in gang-related violence across Haiti in 2024 alone, and armed gangs currently control an estimated 85% of Port-au-Prince, the national capital. Earlier this week, UN officials warned that Haitian gangs have been rapidly adapting to increased security pressure, stepping up brutal reprisal attacks against civilians and expanding their territorial control into rural areas beyond the capital.