El Salvador expands military footprint in Haiti to 2,000 troops amid election slip
The deployment aims to locate four missing technicians and combat gangs as Haiti pushes its presidential vote to July 2027.
By Justin Barnes ·
El Salvador will increase its military presence in Haiti by sending more than 2,000 soldiers to the Caribbean nation. The announcement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday coincided with a new delay in Haitian elections.
The primary objectives of the deployment are to search for four missing Salvadoran aviation technicians and to fight armed gangs. These technicians disappeared on October 18 after an ambush in Croix-des-Bouquets, east of Port-au-Prince. They were serving with an international security mission that supports local police.
Haiti’s electoral authorities moved the first round of presidential and parliamentary voting from December 13 to July 18, 2027. A second round and local polls are now scheduled for October 4, 2027. The nine-member Provisional Electoral Council also extended candidate registration deadlines and introduced online voter registration.
President Nayib Bukele threatened to destroy Haiti’s gangs on October 21 if they did not release the missing personnel. He spoke by telephone with Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime on Wednesday. Fils-Aime’s office stated that the two leaders agreed to strengthen cooperation on rescue efforts and security operations.
It is unclear whether the new Salvadoran troops will join the United Nations-backed Gang Suppression Force or operate independently. Foreign troops have been present in Haiti under UN-backed arrangements since 2024 to improve security conditions for voting.
Voter registration stands at fewer than 900,000 people as of Wednesday, according to the Miami Herald. This figure is low relative to the 6.5 million Haitians who hold identification cards required for enrollment. Gang-controlled roads and displacement caused by violence have hindered the registration process.
An international food security assessment released on Wednesday found that 5.94 million Haitians face acute hunger. Of that total, 1.8 million are in emergency conditions. The number is projected to reach 6.35 million by mid-2027 as violence continues to disrupt farming and food deliveries.
Source: Al Jazeera
