El Salvador President Nayib Bukele released video this week purporting to show military forces deploying rifle-equipped robotic dogs during an operation to wrest control of a Haitian stadium from gangs.
“Under the bilateral agreement between the Haitian government and the government of El Salvador, a joint operation involving the Haitian National Police, the Haitian Armed Forces (FAd’H), the Task Force, and the Salvadoran Special Forces successfully took control of Sylvio Cator Stadium and secured it,” Bukele wrote on X, according to a translation from Haitian Creole.
The footage showed the robotic units traveling through a hallway before climbing a staircase with a rifle mounted on top.
El Salvador President Nayib Bukele released footage Thursday that appeared to show military forces using rifle-equipped robotic dogs during an operation to reclaim a Haitian stadium from gang control. (Nayib Bukele/X)
The video does not make clear what role the robotic units played in the Port-au-Prince operation.
Bukele also said that “several human skulls” were discovered inside the stadium.
EXPLORE MORE: Harry Shum Jr.’s Ethnicity, Wife, Age and Net Worth Explained
The footage showed one of the robotic dogs climbing a staircase. (Nayib Bukele/X)
“We will now establish an operational base at the stadium so we can continue advancing deeper into territory controlled by the gangs,” Bukele said. “We now have the upper hand on the ground.”
Before the operation began, Bukele called on gang members to leave the area.
Bukele offered no further details about how the robots were used during the stadium operation. (Nayib Bukele/X)
“Those who choose to stay and fight our forces will have to face the consequences,” he said.
Bukele’s campaign against gangs has been a defining feature of his presidency since he took office in 2019.
