Why Salvadoran troops are in Haiti and what Bukele hopes to achieve

Haiti's Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime said this week that a major victory had been achieved against gang violence in the Caribbean country, which has been in crisis since 2018. He credited the involvement of Salvadoran forces. El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele had earlier said a joint task force of the two countries destroyed the headquarters of the 400 Mawozo gang and a related property. He also posted a still-unverified video showing helicopters firing on a large compound.

Why Salvadoran forces are in Haiti

Some Salvadoran troops have been stationed in Haiti since the start of 2025, mainly to curb gang influence. Last month Bukele sent more than 2,000 soldiers and special forces, officially to rescue four Salvadorans ambushed on October 18 who have not been found. Fils-Aime said the two countries work alongside the UN-backed Gang Suppression Force (GSF) to regain territorial control. Jake Johnston of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, a Haiti expert, said it is unclear where coordination between the various security forces begins and ends, and that El Salvador is framing the operation as its own choice.

The situation in Haiti

A UN report released Thursday described bloody turf wars, sexual violence and other abuses around Port-au-Prince and in the Artibonite and South-East departments. Between July and September, at least 1,167 people were killed and 459 injured. More than half of this violence stemmed from security forces' operations against gangs, sometimes supported by a private military company using drones.

Observers see Haiti as appealing to Bukele because he may wish to export his mano dura (iron fist) policy, which in El Salvador led to mass jailing of gang members and a sharp fall in murders. Haiti expert Romain Le Cour Grandmaison argues the model is hard to replicate: prisons were emptied in 2024, the justice system is largely paralyzed and criminal groups resemble militias.

US stance

Relations between the US and El Salvador have improved markedly in Donald Trump's second term. Deportations of migrants from the US to El Salvador rose 98% at the start of 2026. In November, Trump said Bukele must do what he has to do.