Haitians cheer Salvadoran troops arriving to battle capital gangs

Haitian residents have taken to the streets in Port-au-Prince to cheer Salvadoran troops deployed to combat armed gangs, Al Jazeera, X, and The Haitian Times reported. Al Jazeera and X both reported that crowds demonstrated in support of the forces after gangs almost completely took control of the capital city. [1][2][3]

The military response followed the disappearance of four Salvadoran citizens in Haiti. Al Jazeera reported that Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele pledged to eradicate the gangs after the four were kidnapped. X reported that El Salvador sent more than 2,000 troops to the Caribbean nation after the four disappeared. [1][2]

As FTMQ News reported earlier, Bukele initiated a military rescue operation after four Salvadoran aviation technicians were kidnapped when gangs attacked an armoured vehicle near Port-au-Prince. Bukele warned at the time that his government would launch a stronger military response if the missing men were not returned alive. [8]

Bukele is the 43rd president of El Salvador and has served in the position since 2019. Haiti is the most populous nation in the Caribbean, with an estimated population of 11.4 million people and its capital at Port-au-Prince. By 2025, armed gangs had seized control of approximately 85 percent of the capital city. [4][5][6]