Angry at gangs that ambushed Salvadoran soldiers, Bukele deploys special forces to Haiti

Haiti admin October 23, 2026 0 Comments

Angry at gangs that ambushed Salvadoran soldiers, Bukele deploys special forces to Haiti

Angry at Haitian gangs that ambushed four Salvadoran members of the military, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele deployed 100 special forces soldiers to Haiti on Thursday to join the search for the men, who were fired on by armed gangs on Sunday, the Miami Herald has learned.

“It’s only the beginning,” a source familiar with the deployment said, while a second source said another 100 Salvadoran soldiers may be deployed to Port-au-Prince.

Bukele announced on Wednesday in a statement on X that there would be a deployment of additional soldiers to Haiti but did not provide specifics. Sources said at the time that negotiations were still under way over the form the deployment would take. The Salvadoran troops are operating under the command of the United Nations-authorized Gang Suppression Force.

The men had been out shopping at a supermarket in the area of Santo 19 when they were returning to camp and attacked. Their disappearance marks the first major incident for the international armed force since it started deploying to Haiti with Chadian soldiers in April. It is also the first instance of soldiers being ambushed while not engaged in combat.

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The men, who are assigned to an aviation unit with the gang-fighting force, were traveling in an armored white Toyota Land Cruiser when they were surrounded by heavily armed members of the Chen Mechan gang. After riddling the vehicle with bullets and receiving backup from the 400 Mawozo gang, the gunmen set the vehicle on fire with an explosive device, several sources told the Herald.

The Armed Forces of El Salvador said in a statement that the men had managed to escape. But they have remained unaccounted for since Sunday, and search operations have continued.

María Fernanda Arocha, Central America research manager at Armed Conflict Location & Event Data, which has been monitoring Haiti’s gang warfare, said the attack on the foreign soldiers demonstrates how gangs continue to adapt their tactics, further threatening Haiti’s already fragile political transition.

“Haiti’s gangs have escalated their violence as they are increasingly willing and able to confront international forces directly,” she added.

At least one gang leader, who goes by the name Krisla, reacted to the Salvadoran deployment. In a video circulating online, he said Haiti belongs to Jean-Jacques Dessalines — a reference to the former slave turned national hero who led the Haiti revolution against the French in the early 1800s — and that if Salvadoran forces come to fight, they will get a fight. Krisla controls Carrefour, a community west of Port-au-Prince that has been under gang control for more than two years.

Another video began circulating online Thursday showing a visibly tired and disheveled gang leader, Lanmo San Jou. It was unclear when the gang leader, who controls large swaths of eastern Port-au-Prince, recorded the video.

Lanmo San Jou, whose real name is Wilson Joseph, is now aligned with the Chen Mechan gang. He is among the gang leaders wanted by the FBI in connection with the kidnapping of U.S. citizens, including a group of missionaries. His gang is part of the Viv Ansanm coalition, which the Trump administration has designated a foreign terrorist organization.

In the video, Lanmo San Jou mentions possessing automatic rifles and turns the camera toward buckets filled with what he describes as high-powered ammunition. He also suggests that he has nowhere to go and that he and his men will fight if necessary. His tone appeared different from the cocky appearance he’s displayed in recent weeks, when he hosted live TikTok sessions from his lavish mansion.

“Where should we go? Uh? Where should we go?,” he said in Creole. “We have nowhere to go, my general. Understood? If we have to fight to stay alive, we will fight.”

This story was originally published October 22, 2026 at 4:30 PM.