Salvadoran troops, operating alongside Haitian police, killed 20 people during a raid on the 400 Mawozo gang’s headquarters in Croix-des-Bouquets this past Sunday.
The operation, which targeted a criminal organization’s headquarters, follows the deployment of Salvadoran troops to Haiti ahead of a visit by the Haitian prime minister to El Salvador.
The intervention departs from the initial scope of the Salvadoran deployment, which President Nayib Bukele originally justified as a mission to recover four aviation technicians who went missing on October 18, Al Jazeera reported. With over 2,000 troops now on the ground, the mission has shifted toward a broader, more aggressive strategy to mirror the security crackdowns Bukele implemented within his own borders.
Bukele, who has warned Haitian gangs in Haitian Creole that he can “finish with you too,” announced the raid on X, posting footage of helicopters circling the site and firing on the building, which served as the base for gang leader Lanmo San Jou. The mission follows the power vacuum created by the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, since which gangs have grown to control 70 percent of Port-au-Prince.
Shifting Rules of Engagement
The role of these forces remains a point of intense friction between San Salvador and international observers. While Haiti’s Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé publicly thanked Bukele for the support and stated, “the only ones operating outside international law are the gangs,” he has yet to clarify the specific command structure or the rules of engagement governing the Salvadoran units, according to AP News.
Behind the scenes, a U.S. official remarked to the press, “There is a class of bureaucrats who don’t want to see the change in the Western Hemisphere that POTUS wants.”
Amnesty International has called for both governments to release the formal agreement governing this deployment. Ana Piquer, the organization’s Americas director, urged the leaders to ensure that all operations “comply with international human rights law,” emphasizing the need for independent investigations into allegations of abuse. Piquer further demanded that the nations explain who holds the troops accountable and how citizens can report violations without fear of reprisals.
The situation is further complicated by tensions with the United States. Axios reported that U.S. officials have expressed concern over a lack of coordination between the Salvadoran troops and the UN-backed Gang Suppression Force (GSF). Following an October 31 incident where a Salvadoran convoy was struck by gunfire near the U.S. embassy in Port-au-Prince, diplomatic exchanges reached a breaking point, with U.S. Chargé d’Affaires David Howell reportedly warning that the uncoordinated actions risked harming GSF troops or civilians.
After reports that Salvadoran soldiers may have been injured, President Trump reportedly told Bukele, “You have to do what you have to do,” prompting the subsequent military escalation.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday said the U.S. appreciates El Salvador’s efforts, “but the Trump administration has also been clear on the need to deconflict anti-gang operations to ensure seamless implementation of President Trump’s policy to support efforts to free Haiti from gangs.”
Salvadoran Aviation Technicians Go Missing and Diplomatic Tensions Rise
| Date | Key Event |
|---|---|
| October 18, 2026 | Four Salvadoran aviation technicians go missing in Haiti. |
| October 31, 2026 | Salvadoran convoy struck by gunfire near the U.S. Embassy. |
| November 5, 2026 | El Salvador issues a diplomatic rebuttal regarding its coordination with GSF. |
| November 17, 2026 | Haitian PM Alix Didier Fils-Aimé scheduled to visit El Salvador. |
In a diplomatic note, El Salvador’s ministry of foreign affairs denied allegations that its troops had fired toward the U.S. embassy or engaged in reckless operations, asserting that its forces have been coordinating air assets with Haitian officials since late October, as reported by Axios. The government also denied claims that its personnel suffered casualties during a separate engagement involving GSF soldiers from Chad.
With national elections scheduled for July and October of 2027, the government is under pressure to reclaim territory from gangs that currently control approximately 70 percent of Port-au-Prince, according to AP News. Prime Minister Fils-Aimé wants to expand these security efforts, aiming to integrate thousands of new police officers and soldiers into the campaign to “uproot” criminal influence.
Romain Le Cour of the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime noted that the lack of transparency regarding the deployment creates significant risks. “In a dense urban environment where civilians are trapped between the lines, those questions will determine who answers should things potentially go wrong,” Le Cour told AP News.
Correspondent Dania Coto notes that these developments occur as there is international scrutiny regarding whether the Salvadoran approach to gang violence can be applied in Haiti.
