The deployment of Salvadoran troops against the gangs raises hope among part of the Haitian population, as our Observers report. In the territories they control, the gangs would seek to prevent any expression of support for the operation led by President Nayib Bukele.

Published on: 06/11/2026 - 20:08 Modified on: 06/11/2026 - 21:46

Around 2,000 Salvadoran soldiers have been deployed to Haiti since the end of October. Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele justifies this operation by the search for four nationals of his country, missing since October 18, after the attack on their armored vehicle in Croix-des-Bouquets, northeast of Port-au-Prince, the country's capital.

The four men, military technicians assigned to the Gang Repression Force (FRG), an international mission authorized by the UN Security Council in 2025, were allegedly attacked in an area controlled by several armed groups, including the Chèn Méchan and 400 Mawozo gangs.

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Since the start of the Salvadoran military intervention, violent clashes have taken place between Salvadoran soldiers and gangs in the area where the military technicians disappeared. However, the residents whose testimonies the Observers editorial team collected welcome the arrival of Bukele’s troops. However, they do not dare to express this support publicly, for fear of reprisals.

“It is almost forbidden to pronounce the name of the Salvadoran president out loud”

Daniel* lives in Croix-des-Bouquets, the district of the capital where Salvadoran technicians were attacked. It testifies to the climate of tension that reigns there:

"It is almost forbidden to pronounce the name of the Salvadoran president out loud in the area. There are people who are very happy with this intervention but who cannot express it."

Despite the intensification of clashes near his home, our Observer says he is in favor of the Salvadoran intervention:

"I am very happy with this operation. I can't wait for us to regain our freedom. The gangs are in great difficulty, they have lost a lot of people [it is not possible to independently establish how many gang members have died since the start of the Salvadoran intervention, Editor's note]. They fear the Salvadorans more than the FRG and the Haitian forces. The Salvadorans are better equipped: they have combat helicopters and a greater number of vehicles armored.”

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He explains that the residents are taken hostage by the gangs:

"The armed bandits watch everyone. If they surprise you with a phone, it will be direct execution. Escape is not easy. If they surprise you with a briefcase for example, the gangs ask you questions. The young people hide so as not to be forced to fight."

According to him, like several residents contacted by our editorial staff, the gangs would force residents to participate in demonstrations against the Salvadoran intervention, like the one that took place on November 2 in Canaan, north of Port-au-Prince.

“The gangs are worried about this intervention”

Marie Yolène Gilles, founder of Fondasyon Je Klere (FJKL), a human rights organization, agrees:

“It was the gangs who organized this protest and forced people to take part in it. This shows how worried they are about this intervention.”

For her, a sign of this panic is the initiative taken by Wilson Joseph, alias Lanmo Sanjou, leader of the 400 Mawozo gang, which controls the Croix-des-Bouquets sector, to send a letter to the UN Secretary General. Dated November 1, it requests the sending of a delegation responsible for facilitating dialogue and mediation in Haiti.

Lanmo Sanjou is on the list of people sanctioned by the United Nations Security Council for his involvement in serious human rights violations in Haiti. His group is associated with the Viv Ansanm coalition, an alliance of several Haitian armed gangs, designated as foreign terrorist organizations (FTO) by the United States.

Marie Yolène Gilles denounces Lanmo Sanjou's maneuver:

"It is a terrorist group that tries to pass itself off as a non-state armed group that respects international humanitarian law (IHL). It says it wants peace, they have forgotten the crimes they committed, these are things that must be judged in the name of the law. The gangs want to negotiate to benefit from amnesty, but how can we grant amnesty to criminals like those of Viv Ansanm?"

Marie Yolène Gilles explains that her association has, for the moment, not been able to confirm the existence of collateral civilian victims in the clashes between the gangs and the Salvadoran forces. Difficulties in communicating with residents, linked in particular to network outages and surveillance by armed groups, complicate the collection of information and verification of facts.

She recalls the urgency of creating a humanitarian corridor and calls on the Haitian government to take charge of the movements of people living in the area affected by the clashes.

She also hopes that the presence of the Salvadoran military will bring change to the country:

"Haiti has been plunged for several years into an internal armed conflict and a serious security crisis. The State has called on foreign mercenaries, without obtaining results. The various international missions have also failed to restore security. President Bukele has succeeded in dismantling the gangs in his country. We hope that his intervention in Haiti will produce results. Since the arrival of Salvadoran forces, the gangs seem panicked."

In a press release dated November 4, 2026, Fondasyon Je Klere (FJKL) asks the government to break the contract with foreign mercenaries and use the funds allocated in a training program for young Haitian soldiers with the support of Salvadoran soldiers.

Nayib Bukele's strategy and the duration of his military engagement in Haiti remain uncertain. Initially deployed to find the four Salvadoran technicians who disappeared on October 18 in Croix-des-Bouquets, the Salvadoran forces seem to have expanded their operations to the fight against gangs. The technicians' vehicle was found burned, but there is no trace of the four men.

Wilson Joseph, alias Lanmo Sanjou, as well as certain residents of Croix-des-Bouquets, claim that they are dead. The Haitian and Salvadoran authorities, however, believe that they could be held hostage. President Bukele has threatened to intensify operations if the technicians are not released alive and unharmed.

*His name has been changed at his request, to preserve his anonymity.

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