Salvadoran troops target Haitian gang, leaving 20 dead

What the report says

Al Jazeera reports that Salvadoran troops, working alongside Haitian police, were involved in an operation against one of Haiti’s most powerful gangs in Croix-des-Bouquets, near Port-au-Prince, that left 20 people dead. Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele said on social media that the raid destroyed a house linked to gang leader Lanmo San Jou and the headquarters of the 400 Mawozo gang. He posted video footage showing helicopters over the site.

The operation took place on Sunday, according to the article, and was publicly announced on Tuesday. It comes as Haiti’s prime minister, Alix Didier Fils-Aime, prepares to travel to El Salvador next week to discuss the future of Salvadoran troops in Haiti. The report says about 2,000 Salvadoran troops have been deployed there since mid-October, after four Salvadoran personnel went missing during an ambush.

Al Jazeera notes that most of those troops are not part of the UN-backed Gang Suppression Force, raising questions about their mandate and rules of engagement. Amnesty International urged both governments to make the deployment agreement public and ensure any operations comply with international human rights law. The episode highlights the expanding regional role of El Salvador in Haiti’s security crisis, as Haiti moves toward long-delayed elections next year.