SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — El Salvador deployed 100 special forces soldiers to Haiti on Thursday to help rescue four missing soldiers from the Central American country who recently came under attack by gangs, two officials told The Associated Press.
The special forces arrived a day after Salvadorean President Nayib Bukele announced a military operation to rescue the four aviation technicians and threatened a more forceful response if they're not released alive and unharmed.
An official with El Salvador’s government not authorized to speak on the matter said an additional 100 soldiers were going to be deployed to Haiti on Thursday night. The official said Salvadorean authorities were operating under the assumption that the four missing Salvadoreans are still alive.
The Miami Herald first reported the deployment.
The gang suppression force issued a brief statement late Thursday saying that “a contingent” from El Salvador had arrived “to support ongoing search and security operations” where the attack occurred.
Haiti’s government said Wednesday evening that the four missing soldiers were abducted, marking its first comments since the attack that occurred Sunday in Croix-des-Bouquets. Authorities have said the soldiers were traveling in an armored vehicle that came under fire from gangs that also used explosives.
It’s the first major attack since the international gang suppression force began operations, replacing a Kenyan-led force that struggled to help Haitian police quell gang violence given a lack of resources and funds.
Diego Da Rin, an analyst with the International Crisis Group, said he believes that finding the Salvadoreans will be like finding a needle in a haystack.
“It will be almost impossible to find them … unless the gangs agree to hand them over,” he said.
Da Rin said the Salvadoreans were apparently not traveling with the type of security detail needed so deep in gang-held territory, and it's not clear what they were doing in the area.
The attack occurred in territory controlled by the Chèn Méchan gang, with the 400 Mawozo gang operating just west of that area, a gang that is much more powerful and has far greater firepower.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, and neither gang has posted about it on social media.
Da Rin said he believes the unaccounted for soldiers could serve as a negotiation tool for gangs.
“The silence surrounding the situation of the Salvadorans might actually help them increase the leverage they can use to compel the authorities to enter into negotiations,” he said. “I do not believe this kidnapping is so much an attempt to gain money, but rather an effort to prevent incursions into their territories.”
Authorities have been fighting armed men in the area ever since the attack occurred, with the Haitian National Police task force, which includes Vectus Global — the private security firm founded by former U.S. Navy SEAL and Blackwater founder Erik Prince — working with the gang suppression force as part of a joint operation. As the heavy fighting in deep, gang-controlled territory continues, residents have been warned to remain indoors.
The attack occurred as the gang suppression force numbers only a little over 2,000 of the 5,500 personnel envisioned.
“The (force) was not prepared to begin its offensive campaign against the gangs,” Da Rin said. “The risk of launching large-scale operations is that the gangs might rejoin forces… and launch coordinated attacks.”
He noted that the force generally makes incursions and clears territory that would then be secured by Haitian forces: “Now, all forces are playing an offensive role.”
On Wednesday night, a gang leader known as Krisla who controls an area that is not located near the site of the attack, posted a video in which he mentioned Bukele and the ongoing gunbattle.
“They have bigger weapons and more technology than we do, but we’ll fight to the end,” he said. “We didn’t ask Bukele to come here, we didn't ask Bukele to send soldiers here. Bukele has come here to protect his money at his soldiers' expense.”
Part of the contractors working with Prince's Vectus Global are from El Salvador, Da Rin noted.
El Salvador’s presidential office did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment.
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Janetsky reported from Phoenix, Arizona.