El Salvador’s Bukele touts military intervention in Haiti
El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele has deployed over 2,000 troops to Haiti, posting videos of his soldiers patrolling streets and engaging in combat with gangs following the disappearance of four Salvadoran aviation technicians.
The posts come as Haitian authorities have found the vehicle used by four Salvadoran aviation technicians who were attacked by gangs more than two weeks ago, but have yet to locate the men themselves. The country's national police posted photos of the burned remains of a truck it said was used by the group, found in the Santo neighbourhood in the Croix-des-Bouquets community outside the capital of Port-au-Prince.
Police were conducting a joint operation along with the United Nations-backed multinational Gang Suppression Force (GSF) and Salvadoran troops when they found the vehicles. The disappearance of the four men on October 18 prompted Bukele to dispatch military personnel and hardware to the Caribbean nation.
Since being elected in 2019, Bukele has instituted a harsh crackdown on crime in El Salvador, jailing tens of thousands of people and imposing a state of emergency that rights groups say has suspended many civil rights.
Military Presence
On Tuesday, Bukele posted a video he said showed Salvadoran military helicopters opening fire on gangs attacking GSF soldiers from Chad. "The gangs no longer have the upper hand," he wrote. In another post, Bukele said Salvadoran forces were there to help Haitians free themselves from the gangs. "We are right there beside you," he wrote.
Gather your gangs so we can go fight with them.
Legal Concerns
The presence of the troops has raised concerns about who is responsible for the use of force in the country. Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the office of the UN Secretary-General, told reporters that only about 200 of the Salvadoran soldiers fell under the GSF's jurisdiction.
"What is important is that any security operation be done within the framework of international human rights law, of international law, and that people's rights need to be respected as you conduct security operations," Dujarric said.
Haiti's Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime has assured the public the foreign forces are operating under Haitian authority. "The international forces did not come to replace the state. They came to support it, to reinforce our capacity," he said on Tuesday, speaking alongside the Salvadoran commander in charge of the country's troops.
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