Four Salvadoran Soldiers Missing After Gang Ambush in Haiti

Updated 05:33 UTC: Bodies handed over in Haiti are not the missing Salvadoran soldiers, president says

Four bodies handed over to Salvadoran forces in Haiti on Saturday are not the four Salvadoran soldiers who went missing after a gang ambush outside Port-au-Prince, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele said, contradicting a New York Times report that the remains were believed to be those of the missing men.

The New York Times reported on Saturday that bodies believed to be those of the four soldiers had been found outside the capital and recovered the same day, citing two people close to the international security mission, Reuters reported. The remains were badly burned, so autopsies would be needed to confirm their identities, and they were handed over at the international airport to a Salvadoran military team that had flown into Haiti on Friday. The international security mission declined to comment, and Reuters said it could not immediately confirm the report.

Hours later, Bukele said in a post on X: "They are not our men." He said the four bodies handed over included a child, a man much taller than the Salvadoran soldiers, and a soldier from another country, and he shared photos of a soldier's identification from Chad. The four Salvadoran aviation technicians therefore remain missing, a week after they fled their burning armored vehicle in the Santo area of Croix-des-Bouquets.

Earlier in the week, Bukele said gangs were holding the four men and that El Salvador had launched a military operation to bring them back unharmed, and additional Salvadoran troops were deployed to support search and security operations. No group has publicly claimed responsibility for the ambush, which local media have linked to gangs operating in the area, including Chen Mechan and 400 Mawozo.

Updated 22:52 UTC, Oct 19, 2026. Developing story.

Four soldiers from El Salvador are missing in Haiti after gangs ambushed their armored vehicle on Sunday in Croix-des-Bouquets, a community in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area now controlled by armed gangs. It is the first major attack since the international Gang Suppression Force began operations in the country, AP reported.

El Salvador's armed forces said the four men are aviation technicians with its air force. They were returning to camp when the vehicle was attacked with explosives and set on fire. The four managed to flee the burning vehicle, the military said, but contact with them was then lost.

US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz told a UN Security Council meeting on Haiti on Monday that the vehicle was hit by hundreds of bullets and explosives while the soldiers were returning to base from a market. Waltz condemned the attack, said the United States believes the four men survived, and said, in his words, we will bring you home.

Search blocked by fighting

Salvadoran helicopters sent to help came under fire as they dispersed armed men in the area, the Salvadoran military said. It said multiple attempts to approach by land and air have been made, but these have been hampered by the intensity of the fighting.

A spokesman for the Gang Suppression Force, Igor Rugwiza, told Reuters the mission was still searching for the four amid heavy fighting. The force said a vehicle carrying its personnel came under attack in the Santo area of Croix-des-Bouquets and advised residents there to remain indoors while it assesses the situation.

Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN secretary general, condemned the attack in New York on Monday and called for the soldiers' immediate and safe release, Reuters reported. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Gangs hold the area

Reuters reported that the Santo area, on the northeastern outskirts of Port-au-Prince, is where the Chen Mechan and 400 Mawozo armed groups hold sway. AP reported the wider area is also controlled by gangs including Kraze Barye, led by Vitelhomme Innocent, and 400 Mawozo, led by Lanmo Sanjou. Both leaders have been sanctioned by the UN and the United States.

The UN Security Council authorized the 5,550 member Gang Suppression Force in September 2025 to replace a Kenya led multinational force that struggled with a lack of funds and resources. The new force is still building up. UN News reported it had 1,563 uniformed members as of Oct 12, 2026, far below the authorized strength, and has set up a base in the Artibonite region beyond the capital.

Jack Christofides, the force's special representative, told the Security Council on Monday that gangs are testing the force and that attacks against it have recently increased. He said gangs have carried out reprisal killings in some areas after operations by Haitian and international forces.

Gang violence has displaced nearly 1.5 million people in Haiti, a record, according to the UN. More than 5,700 people were killed or injured from January to mid-September, and more than 230 others were kidnapped. Haiti's presidential and legislative elections, planned for Dec 13, were postponed indefinitely two weeks ago, UN News reported, and the country has not held national elections since 2016.