El Salvador’s president Nayib Bukele rejected assertions that four human remains discovered in Haiti belonged to Salvadoran air technicians who went missing during a military operation. A nongovernmental organization delivered the corpses to personnel at a Haitian airport, claiming they were the four missing men who had been ambushed by armed groups on Thursday. However, Bukele stated that examination of the remains revealed inconsistencies with the identification provided.
The president noted that among the four bodies was a child’s remains, as well as a corpse wearing a military uniform from a country other than El Salvador. Bukele highlighted additional evidence, including identification cards and uniforms originating from nations outside El Salvador, along with a national identification card from Chad. He also pointed out that one of the bodies belonged to a person considerably taller than typical for Salvadoran air technicians.
The four missing personnel had been part of the UN-backed Gang Suppression Force, which operates in Haiti to address escalating gang-related violence. They were traveling in an armored vehicle back to their camp in Croix-des-Bouquets, an area controlled by armed criminal organizations, when they were attacked. In response to their disappearance, El Salvador dispatched approximately 450 military personnel to Haiti with the stated objective of recovering the men alive.
Bukele’s position contradicted earlier reporting from the New York Times, which cited unnamed sources suggesting the badly burned remains recovered on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince on Saturday were likely those of the four technicians. One source told the newspaper that medical examination would be necessary to identify the charred remains. An unnamed individual briefed on the situation indicated that identification materials referenced by Bukele actually belonged to a GSF soldier who had lost them when injured.
Haiti has struggled with severe gang violence for years, particularly following political instability after 2021. A multinational force has faced challenges in controlling areas where armed groups maintain control, with the UN documenting over 5,700 casualties resulting from gang activity or related military operations between early and mid-September this year.
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