The president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, called those who finance, supply weapons to, or collaborate with gangs in Haiti "traitors" and vowed to help the population regain control of the country.
In a message published this Tuesday on X, written in Haitian Creole, the president compared the current collaborators of criminal organizations to those who betrayed and murdered Jean-Jacques Dessalines, one of the main leaders of Haitian independence, who was assassinated in 1806.
"Dessalines liberated Haiti, but some people who were by his side betrayed and killed him," Bukele recalled, emphasizing that those men sought personal gain and plunged the country into generations of suffering.
"Those traitors still exist in Haiti. They are not heirs of Dessalines; they are heirs of the traitors who assassinated him and destroyed his legacy," he stated.
The Salvadoran president noted that, although numerous foreigners have looted Haiti, there have also been collaborators within the country who, he alleged, facilitated drug trafficking, the supply of weapons, and the control of territories by criminal organizations.
"Who puts the weapons in our hands? Who kills the people we love? Who steals our homes and our possessions?" he questioned.
Bukele stated that El Salvador is willing to support Haitians in their fight against armed gangs and urged them to regain control of their communities.
"We are on the same side as you. We will help you take back the country from the hands of the traitors who betray Dessalines' legacy," he promised.
The message concluded with a statement: "And, finally, Haiti will be free."
The deployment of more than 2,000 Salvadoran soldiers in Haiti
The statements come as more than 2,000 Salvadoran soldiers are participating in operations in Haiti, deployed following the disappearance of four aviation technicians from that country during a gang ambush on October 18, near Port-au-Prince.
The military deployment comes amid threats from Haitian gangs. Recently, Wilson Joseph, the leader of the 400 Mawozo gang, requested the mediation of the United Nations and warned of a potential escalation of violence.
For his part, Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé assured this Tuesday that his government is directing security operations and that foreign forces are in the country to support the state, not to replace it, as reported by Associated Press.
The United Nations has noted that most of the Salvadoran troops deployed do not operate under the framework of the multinational force backed by the organization.
Violence continues to strike the Haitian population: more than 5,700 people have died or been injured between January and mid-September 2026, according to UN figures.
Related videos:
Filed under: