Bukele Expands El Salvador’s Military Presence in Haiti
According to theconversation.com, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele shared video footage on Nov. 10, 2026, showing assault helicopters shelling a compound close to Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti.
Previously, Bukele used a social media message written in Haitian Creole to ask for the location of Wilson Joseph, who heads the 400 Mawozo gang—one of the most influential criminal groups in Haiti. Bukele subsequently claimed the operation, conducted with Haitian police, had demolished Joseph’s residence and gang headquarters. As many as 20 people were killed, although Joseph was reportedly absent.
The attack comes amid a flurry of anti-gang operations in Haiti. On Nov. 6, a Haitian special task force killed Mathias Saintil, leader of the “Boston” gang in Cité Soleil, in a drone strike, leading Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé to post “one less gang leader” on the social media platform X. Erik Prince, founder of the private military firm Vectus Global, responded: “Nice shot.”
El Salvador already maintained a modest footprint in Haiti as one of six nations providing personnel to the U.N.-backed Gang Suppression Force (GSF).
Established in 2025, the mission was meant to assist local authorities in taking back streets and cities from the violent gangs dominating large portions of the impoverished country, though it continues to suffer from severe staffing shortages and has found it difficult to turn military actions into permanent territorial gains.
Then, in an Oct. 18 gang ambush, four Salvadoran aviation technicians attached to the Gang Suppression Force disappeared. Their burned vehicle was recovered, but their fate remains uncertain. Either way, Bukele used the incident to justify expanding El Salvador’s military presence in Haiti. Operating under the initial banner of a rescue mission, he dispatched roughly 2,500 troops alongside attack helicopters and armored vehicles over the following weeks.
They joined an already crowded battlefield. Haiti’s police and army operate alongside the GSF, authorized but not commanded by the United Nations.
Working alongside vigilante groups that patrol contested neighborhoods, the Haitian task force that targeted Saintil also collaborates with Vectus Global, a private military company led by former Blackwater CEO Prince. Numerous armed factions tied to the Viv Ansanm coalition dominate substantial areas of Port-au-Prince while also operating outside the capital.
The U.N. Security Council authorized the deployment of up to 5,550 personnel for the Gang Suppression Force, which currently has about 2,000 members stationed in the country. Most of the Salvadoran troops now in Haiti operate outside its command. Haitian Prime Minister Fils-Aimé insists that Haiti directs the operations.
Nevertheless, neither administration has made public the pact detailing Salvadoran jurisdiction, operational guidelines, or how long the deployment will last. In the absence of a publicly released deployment accord, the public remains in the dark regarding the chain of command and the protocols for approving strikes.
Even though President Donald Trump backs Bukele, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has distanced Washington from the Salvadoran offensive, saying the U.S. was “not actively involved.” Cautioning that inadequate coordination could result in friendly fire incidents, U.S. diplomats also lodged formal protests regarding the potential hazards faced by civilian staff and multinational forces. Salvadoran authorities dispute American allegations that their gunfire