Bodies turned over to gang-fighting force in Haiti may be missing Salvadorans

The United Nations-authorized gang-fighting force in Haiti is grappling with the possibility that badly burned corpses it received from a humanitarian organization on Saturday afternoon could be that of four Salvadoran soldiers ambushed by armed gangs a week ago.

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The remains, wrapped in several layers of garbage bags, were turned over to the Gang Suppression Force by HERO, a relief organization that was contacted through humanitarian channels, the group told the Miami Herald.

The group cautioned that it could not say with certainty if the remains, were even human, much less the Salvadoran soldiers. The remains were to be sent to forensic testing.

“We were contacted through humanitarian channels to come pick up remains, and our guys went and picked up what they gave us from a drop site that they gave us, and then we brought it back and turned it in,” a HERO employee told the Herald.

The discovery raises the possibility of a grim outcome in the search for the four men, which has led to El Salvador deploying 450 special forces soldiers to Haiti as of Friday to aid the gang-fighting force in the search. Until now, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has insisted the men were still alive and being held by gangs.

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The remains were picked up in territory controlled by the Chen Mechan gang, which had announced it wanted to turn the remains of the Salvadorans.

“We hope this brings some closure, but we are in no way claiming it is them “ the HERO aide worker cautioned.

The Gang Supression Force force has not made any statement about the discovery and hand over.

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This story was originally published October 24, 2026 at 8:26 PM.