El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele said Tuesday that Salvadoran forces supported a devastating air operation against the base of one of Haiti’s most influential criminal organizations, a gang tied to kidnappings, arms smuggling and extortion.
According to Bukele, helicopters struck compounds controlled by 400 Mawozo, including the residence of its leader, Lanmò San Jou.
The assault was carried out Sunday near Port-au-Prince by a Haitian police unit supported by Salvadoran troops, The Miami Herald reported.
El Salvador’s president said the operation destroyed a major Haiti gang’s headquarters used for kidnappings, weapons trafficking and extortion. (@nayibbukele/X)
The strike appears connected to a broader military response following the disappearance of four Salvadoran personnel assigned to a U.N.-backed security mission. The men were reportedly taken during a gang ambush near Port-au-Prince on Oct. 18.
“We kept our promise,” Bukele wrote on X.
Footage released after the operation showed multiple helicopters firing on compounds within sprawling residential areas. Dozens of people could be seen escaping on foot and motorcycles as the attacks unfolded.
“Most of them ran away without even trying to fight. What cowards!” Bukele said.
The Miami Herald, citing sources who were not identified, reported that as many as 20 people may have died in the assault.
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Dozens of people run through the area after a helicopter strike targeting a gang headquarters in Haiti. (@nayibbukele/X)
Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé thanked Bukele on Tuesday for supporting efforts to confront the country’s entrenched gang violence and restore government authority. He also commended the U.N.-backed Gang Suppression Force, the Haitian National Police, the Haitian Armed Forces and their international allies.
“I salute the commitment of the Salvadoran forces in the fight against gangs,” he said.
“Hats off to President Nayib Bukele @nayibbukele for your support and commitment to the national fight against gangs. Haiti, El Salvador, GSF: same fight, same determination! The collaboration will continue. THE GANGS WILL GET NO SLEEP!”
Black smoke rises across a field after a helicopter strike targeting a major gang’s headquarters in Haiti. (@nayibbukele/X)
The Oct. 18 ambush left behind a burned armored vehicle but no sign of the four Salvadoran personnel. In response, El Salvador sent thousands of additional troops to Haiti to aid the search.
Salvadoran officials maintain that the men were abducted and could still be alive, although a gang leader has claimed they were killed.
Their disappearance has become a top priority for Bukele. The Salvadoran president has warned Haitian gang leaders that his country is willing to deploy overwhelming force unless the missing personnel are returned alive.