The Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele published a message in Haitian Creole this Thursday addressed directly to the people of Haiti, in which he dismissed the massive military operation by his country as an invasion and promised that his forces would "give a lesson to the gangs" that keep the population terrified.
The message, shared on his X account while El Salvador was completing the deployment of more than 2,000 soldiers in Haitian territory, was entirely written in Creole and garnered over a million views in just a few hours.
"This is not an operation against the Haitian people, nor an invasion of Haiti," wrote Bukele, who added that his country has no interests in domination and does not intend to seize the wealth of the Caribbean nation.
The official explained that the sole immediate objective is to recover four Salvadoran aviation technicians who have been missing since October 18, when their armored vehicle was ambushed with gunfire and explosives in Croix-des-Bouquets, about 12 kilometers from Port-au-Prince.
The four men were part of Task Force Liberty II, which was embedded within the Gang Suppression Force (GSF) supported by the UN, and their main function was to carry out medical evacuations, not combat operations.
Bukele also revealed the financial burden his government carries: "We are almost the only ones paying for this operation... we cover 90% of the costs with our own resources," he stated, noting that he only receives occasional logistical support from other countries.
To justify the intervention, the Salvadoran president referenced his own country's experience: "We lived through a bloodbath that was even more terrible than what the Haitian people are suffering now," he wrote, referring to the years of extreme violence that preceded his security policy.
"We do not come to Haiti for money, because no one pays us for this. We come to Haiti to fight against the wicked," he concluded in that section.
The military escalation in El Salvador has been gradual. Before the ambush, El Salvador had just 124 personnel in the country. On October 21, Bukele issued an ultimatum to the gangs: "Today's attack is nothing compared to what's coming if they do not free the four living hostages." Days later, special forces arrived, followed by a contingent of 690 additional troops, and finally, the Foreign Ministry announced the total deployment of over 2,000 soldiers.
On Wednesday, Bukele spoke by phone with the Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé to coordinate the operation and reaffirm bilateral cooperation.
The gangs identified as possible suspects in the ambush are Chen Mechan and 400 Mawozo, which operate in the Croix-des-Bouquets area. The leader of the latter, Wilson Joseph, also known as “Lanmò San Jou,” responded to Bukele's threats on social media by displaying weapons and denying that he was holding the four Salvadorans.
The message concluded with a biblical quote from 2 Chronicles 7:14 and a call to trust: "Help us help Haiti. And when our mission is complete, we will return home."
By the end of this Thursday, the four aerotechnicians were still unaccounted for. Analyst Romain Le Cour from the Haiti Observatory at Global Initiative warned that the offensive "has not made any visible progress in recovering the four Salvadoran military personnel, which is the very objective of these operations."
Filed under: