El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele Announces Military Operation In Haiti

El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele said Wednesday he had launched a military operation to rescue four Salvadoran aviation technicians kidnapped by gangs in Haiti, warning of a more forceful response if they are not released alive and unharmed.

The announcement comes three days after gangs in Haiti opened fire on an armored vehicle over the weekend, marking the first major attack since an international gang suppression force began operations in the violence-wracked Caribbean country. After fleeing the burning vehicle in the Santo area of Croix-des-Bouquets, Port-au-Prince, the four men went missing.

Addressing Haitian gang leaders, Bukele demanded that they return the Salvadorans “alive, unharmed” and warned that, if they do so, “everything will go back to the way it was before the kidnapping.” If not, the Salvadoran leader — who drew international attention for his contentious war on his own country’s gangs — said it would result in a more powerful operation.

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Pou chèf gang yo ak manm gang yo k ap kenbe kat konpatriyòt nou yo an otaj ann Ayiti:

Mesye nou kidnape yo pa konbatan. Yo se teknisyen nan domèn avyasyon ki fè pati misyon nou ann Ayiti, nan kad yon misyon entènasyonal. Misyon nou an gen sèlman pilòt ak pèsonèl teknik, ki gen… pic.twitter.com/BNKbWTAQQp

— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) October 21, 2026

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To the gang leaders and gang members holding our four compatriots hostage in Haiti:

Our kidnapped men are not combatants. They are aviation technicians who are part of our mission in Haiti, within the framework of an international mission. Our mission consists only of pilots and technical personnel, whose primary job is to carry out medical evacuations and save lives, not to wage war.

However, they were kidnapped in a cowardly manner while returning after buying food at a market in the area.

That is why, today, we have launched a military operation to rescue them. We have a single objective: to bring our four compatriots back home alive, without any harm.

However, I want you, the gang leaders, to understand one thing very clearly: today’s attack is nothing compared to what is coming if we do not get all four hostages back alive.

And do not take our word for empty threats. We have already finished with the gangs in El Salvador, and we can finish with you too.

We still have time to avoid this.

Return our four compatriots to us alive, without any harm, and everything will go back to how it was before the kidnapping.

The decision is in your hands.

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