Salvadoran President Issues Dire Warning to Haitian Gangs After Four Technicians Taken Hostage

Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has issued a severe ultimatum to Haitian gangs holding four Salvadoran aviation technicians hostage, warning that his military is prepared to dismantle criminal networks in Haiti just as it did at home. The four men were captured following an ambush on Sunday while deployed as part of the United Nations-backed international Gang Suppression Force.

While Salvadoran officials initially reported that the technicians had managed to escape an attack on their armored vehicle on foot, Bukele later confirmed their capture. In a message posted to social media in Haitian Creole, the Salvadoran leader emphasized the non-combatant status of the detained personnel.

To the gang leaders and gang members holding our four compatriots hostage in Haiti, our kidnapped men are not combatants, Bukele stated. 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. According to the president, the technicians were seized in a cowardly manner while returning from a local market after purchasing food.

In response to the kidnapping, Bukele announced that the Salvadoran military has initiated a rescue operation with the singular objective of bringing the four men back alive and unharmed. However, he accompanied the rescue announcement with an explicit threat regarding the consequences of continued detention.

Today’s attack is nothing compared to what is coming if we do not get all four hostages back alive, Bukele warned the gang leadership. 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. He added that an opportunity remains to resolve the situation peacefully, telling the captors to return the men unharmed to restore the status quo.

The initial assault occurred in Croix-des-Bouquets, a once-peaceful neighborhood located in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince. The incident marks the first documented direct attempt by local armed gangs to target the international Gang Suppression Force.

International officials have quickly responded to the crisis. United States Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz pledged assistance in securing the technicians’ release, directing a stern warning toward the perpetrators. To the gangs and gang leaders who carried out this cowardly attack, if you think you’re going to intimidate this coalition into retreat, you have made a terrible mistake, Waltz said.