October 29, 2026
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele reportedly wants his country’s military personnel deployed in Haiti to operate independently of the Gang Suppression Force (GSF), according to the Miami Herald. According to the American daily newspaper, the leader intends to place his troops under the direct authority of their field commander rather than integrating them into the chain of command of the international mission.
At the same time, Salvadoran military reinforcements continue to arrive in Haiti. A military aircraft arriving from El Salvador landed in Port-au-Prince on Monday evening, while three other aircraft were expected on Tuesday, according to reported information. These movements take place in the context of ongoing operations to locate four Salvadoran aviation technicians missing since the October 18 ambush in the Santo area of Croix-des-Bouquets.
This desire for operational autonomy raises questions about the coordination of interventions and the chain of command within the international apparatus tasked with combating gangs in Haiti. For now, Haitian authorities have not published any official communication regarding the terms of this deployment or the possibility of Salvadoran troops operating outside the GSF structure.
