Officially – to Free the Technicians: El Salvador Deploys More Than 2,000 Troops to Haiti

El Salvador has completed the deployment of its military contingent of more than 2,000 personnel and equipment to Haiti.

El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele announced this in an address to the local population.

In his post, Bukele stressed that the operation is not an occupation, an intervention or an attempt to gain control over the country’s resources.

The mission’s main objective is to eliminate armed criminal gangs that control a large part of Haiti’s territory.

Pèp ayisyen,

Nou prèske fin deplwaye sòlda nou yo ak ekipman nou yo sou tè Ayiti. Sa a se pa yon operasyon kont pèp ayisyen an, ni yon envazyon peyi Ayiti. Nou pa yon gwo pisans. Nou pa gen okenn enterè ni pou nou vin domine pèp ayisyen an, ni pou nou mete men sou richès Ayiti.

Nou se yon peyi modès k ap devlope. Sèl sa nou vle, se pou kat teknisyen avyasyon nou yo tounen lakay yo. Epi n ap bay gang yo yon leson, gang sa yo k ap fè pèp ayisyen an soufri, ki touye moun pèp la renmen yo, k ap anpeche l viv yon lavi nòmal, lib, san laperèz.

Se prèske nou menm sèl k ap peye pou operasyon sa a. Menmsi nou resevwa yon ti èd lojistik nan men kèk lòt peyi, se ak pwòp ti kès nou n ap kouvri 90% nan depans yo.

Sa koute nou chè, men nou te aprann nan pwòp soufrans nou: jistis ak lapè pa gen pri. Nou te pase nan menm soufrans Ayiti ap travèse jodi a. Nou te viv yon beny san ki te pi terib toujou pase sa pèp ayisyen an ap sibi kounye a. Nou konnen sa sa vle di: viv nan laperèz, pa fè politisyen konfyans, pa kwè okenn moun ki pwomèt l ap ede w. Paske pèsonn pa t vin ede nou, e moun ki te vini yo pa t gen bon entansyon nan kè yo.

Men nou te rive chape anba sa. Apre 200 lane soufrans, finalman n ap viv nan lapè, e jodi a nou se peyi ki gen plis sekirite sou kontinan an.

Nou pa vin ann Ayiti pou nou touche lajan, paske pèsonn pa peye nou pou sa. Nou vin ann Ayiti pou nou goumen kont mechan yo.

Men sa m ap mande nou: fè nou konfyans, lapriyè sèl vrè Bondye a, epi mande L pou L geri Ayiti.

“Lè sa a si pèp ki pote non m lan lapriyè nan pye m, si yo soumèt devan mwen, si yo pran chache m ankò, si yo vire do bay vye peche yo t’ap fè yo, m’ap tande yo nan syèl kote m ye a, m’ap padonnen peche yo, m’ap fè peyi a kanpe ankò.”

2 Kwonik 7:14

Ede nou ede Ayiti.

Epi lè misyon nou an fini, n ap tounen lakay nou. Petèt jenerasyon Ayisyen k ap vini yo ap sonje nou kòm zanmi ki te vin ede yon lè.

— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) October 29, 2026

In addition, the military’s immediate priority is to ensure the safe return home of four Salvadoran aviation technicians.

The technicians were captured by Haitian gangs while carrying out logistical tasks as part of international peacekeeping missions. The armed groups seized the specialists along with their technical equipment and made political and financial demands to the Haitian government.

Bukele stressed that El Salvador is covering more than 90% of the costs of the military operation from its own budget.

The country receives limited logistical support from certain international partners.

The Salvadoran president called on the people of Haiti to support peacekeeping efforts and the actions of the military contingent.

He stressed that the troops would leave the country right after completing their assigned missions.

In 2025, the Haitian government decided to hire the private military company Vectus Global, owned by Erik Prince, to combat gang violence.

The company is believed to have already deployed around 200 personnel from the United States, Europe and El Salvador to the country.