Overview:
Haitian National Police (PNH) found a charred vehicle believed to belong to four missing Salvadoran aviation technicians. El Salvador has deployed more than 2,000 troops as the search continues, raising key questions about their presence.
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haiti’s National Police (PNH) says it has found the charred remains of a vehicle four Salvadoran aviation technicians were traveling in when they were attacked in a gang stronghold.
Meanwhile, more than 2,000 Salvadoran troops began arriving in Haiti, ostensibly to assist with the search, raising questions about who is in charge of the soldiers working alongside other forces to quell the gangs.
Haitian authorities said late Nov.3 that they found the vehicle on the outskirts of the capital in the neighborhood of Santo in the Croix-des-Bouquets community, which has been under the control of violent gangs, though police said they met no resistance there.
Authorities posted pictures of the charred vehicle and said the operation that took place early Monday was carried out by Haitian police, the U.N.-backed gang suppression force and Salvadoran troops.
The U.N. has said that the Salvadoran troops are operating outside of the framework of the U.N. gang suppression force and stressed that they should follow international law.
Haiti’s prime minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime said Haiti is responsible for the direction of foreign forces in his country. But Bukele has not confirmed that for the Salvadoran soldiers.
In a statement late Tuesday on X, Bukele invoked Haitian hero Jean-Jacques Dessalines and said that those who betrayed the liberator “still exist in Haiti.”
“Some are gang members, others finance the gangs or supply them with weapons, and some among them are doing everything they can to prevent the Haitian people from gaining their freedom,” Bukele wrote.
His post came hours after Fils-Aimé spoke publicly for the first time since the attack, saying that Haiti is in charge of any foreign forces in the country and that they are not replacing the state.
“The international force is not here to replace the state,” he said. “They’re here to support us.”
Fils-Aimé was flanked from behind by an army colonel from El Salvador, a leader of the U.N.-backed gang suppression force, and officials from Haiti’s army and police. It appeared to be a show of unity as concerns grow about Salvadoran troops acting unilaterally.
Fils-Aimé thanked El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele in his brief speech.
“He understands our fight,” he said, referring to Bukele’s ongoing battle against violent gangs in El Salvador. “He came to stand on the side of the Haitian people.”
But a source familiar with on-the-ground operations in Haiti who was not authorized to talk publicly about the situation told The Associated Press on Nov.3 that up until the Oct. 18 attack against the Salvadoran technicians, El Salvador had not signed an agreement with the U.N. It also did not have a protection agreement with Haiti’s government or a memorandum of understanding with the Dominican Republic to medevac injured personnel of the U.N.-backed gang suppression force.
Up until the attack, the primary role of the roughly 200 Salvadorans in Haiti was to assist medically. Meanwhile, the whereabouts and operations of the recently deployed Salvadoran troops remained murky.
Haiti embraces foreign forces
Fils-Aimé said the government’s priorities are to reestablish security across Haiti and hold elections. “We have entered into a decisive stage,” he said.
The prime minister spoke a day after the U.N. said that most of El Salvador’s personnel in Haiti are not operating under the framework of the U.N.-backed gang suppression force. U.N. officials underscored the importance of complying with international law.
“People’s rights need to be respected as you conduct security operations,” U.N. spokesman Stéphane Dujarric told reporters Tuesday.
The prime minister said the international force came to help support Haiti and “uproot gangs,” adding that more than 1,000 new police officers just graduated from training, and that he hopes to see 4,000 new police officers and 15,000 new soldiers join the fight against gangs.
Fils-Aimé said security operations have been launched in places including Kenscoff, Gressier and l’Artibonite, which have faced brutal gang violence in recent years.
“We are leading this fight with determination against the gangs to eradicate them,” Fils-Aimé said. “With reinforcement, the gangs won’t have time to sleep. … Every armed group that is causing terror in the country, your time has almost expired.”
More than 5,700 people have been killed or injured across Haiti from January to mid-September, according to the U.N.
Salvadoran troops come under scrutiny
Experts and those involved in Haiti’s security operations are raising questions about how the recently deployed Salvadoran troops are operating and what role they’re playing.
“We still do not know the terms of the agreement with the Haitian government, who commands these troops, under which rules of engagement, or for how long,” said Romain Le Cour, head of the Haiti
Observatory at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime.
“In a dense urban environment where civilians are trapped between the lines, those questions will determine who answers should things potentially go wrong,” he said. “The risk, as things stand, is a lack of transparency and no one taking responsibility.”
Le Cour said the actions of El Salvador could set a damaging precedent for multilateral missions: “Governments may conclude that the risks of joining are rising while the political rewards go to those who act alone.”
Le Cour noted that five structures are currently operating on the ground in Haiti: the country’s police and army, the gang suppression force and a task force working with Vectus Global, the private security firm founded by former U.S. Navy SEAL and Blackwater founder Erik Prince.
“Each with its own mandate and rules, and no common plan,” he said. “Haiti’s security response is already an orchestra without a conductor.”
Meanwhile, Haitian human rights organization Fondation Je Klere (JKL) is urging the United Nations to strengthen security cooperation between Haiti and El Salvador to support efforts to combat armed gangs.
In a Nov. 4 report, JKL called for a legal framework governing Salvadoran military operations that would ensure compliance with human rights standards. The organization also recommended that the Haitian government terminate its contract with Prince’s firm and redirect the millions of dollars allocated to foreign mercenaries toward intensive training for Haiti’s national security forces, with support from Salvadoran personnel.
“The international force is not here to replace the state. They’re here to support us.”
Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé
Gang-penned letter to UN attracts attention
Haiti’s prime minister held the press conference a day after one of Haiti’s most powerful gang leaders told AP that he wrote the U.N. secretary-general requesting that the organization send a delegation to Haiti for dialogue and mediation amid fears that the arrival of Salvadoran troops could escalate the violence.
“The letter shows that the pressure is being felt, and potentially a strategic move to reduce exposure and gain recognition,” Le Cour said.
On Tuesday, the U.N. issued a statement saying it has previously directly received communications from people, including those subject to U.N. sanctions: “Receiving such communications does not imply recognition, endorsement, or any change in the status of the individual concerned under the relevant sanction regime.”
It’s unclear whether U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres plans to respond to the letter the leader of the 400 Mawozo gang sent via email.
