El Salvador’s president said Tuesday that Salvadoran military personnel helped carry out a major air assault on the headquarters of one of Haiti’s most powerful criminal gangs, an organization linked to mass kidnappings, weapons trafficking and extortion.
President Nayib Bukele said airstrikes hit compounds controlled by 400 Mawozo, as well as the home of the gang’s leader, Lanmò San Jou.
The operation took place Sunday near Port-au-Prince and was conducted by a Haitian police task force supported by Salvadoran troops, The Miami Herald reported.
El Salvador’s president said the operation destroyed the headquarters of a major Haitian gang tied to kidnappings, weapons trafficking and extortion. (@nayibbukele/X)
The assault appears to be part of a continuing military response to the disappearance of four Salvadoran members of a U.N.-backed security mission. The personnel were abducted during a gang ambush near Port-au-Prince on Oct. 18.
“We kept our promise,” Bukele wrote in a post on X.
Video footage showed helicopters striking several compounds within sprawling residential complexes. Dozens of people could also be seen escaping on foot and by motorcycle after the airstrikes.
“Most of them ran away without even trying to fight. What cowards!” Bukele said.
The operation may have killed as many as 20 people, according to The Miami Herald, which cited anonymous sources.
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Dozens of people flee after a helicopter strike targeting a gang headquarters in Haiti. (@nayibbukele/X)
Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé thanked Bukele Tuesday for supporting efforts to confront the country’s long-running gang crisis and restore government control. He also praised the U.N.-backed Gang Suppression Force, the Haitian National Police, the Haitian Armed Forces and their international partners.
“I salute the commitment of the Salvadoran forces in the fight against gangs,” he said.
“Hats off to President Nayib Bukele @nayibbukele for your support and commitment to the national fight against gangs. Haiti, El Salvador, GSF: same fight, same determination! The collaboration will continue. THE GANGS WILL GET NO SLEEP!”
Black smoke spreads across a field after a helicopter strike on a major gang headquarters in Haiti. (@nayibbukele/X)
Following the Oct. 18 ambush, authorities found a burned armored vehicle but no sign of the four missing Salvadoran personnel. El Salvador then deployed thousands of additional troops to aid the search.
Salvadoran officials believe the men were abducted and may still be alive, although a gang leader claimed they had been killed.
The men’s disappearance has become a national priority for Bukele. He has warned Haitian gang leaders that El Salvador is prepared to deploy overwhelming force unless the personnel are returned alive.
