Four Salvadoran Soldiers Missing After Gang Ambush in Haiti

Updated 22:52 UTC, Oct 19, 2026. Developing story.

Four soldiers from El Salvador are missing in Haiti after gangs ambushed their armored vehicle on Sunday in Croix-des-Bouquets, a community in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area now controlled by armed gangs. It is the first major attack since the international Gang Suppression Force began operations in the country, AP reported.

El Salvador's armed forces said the four men are aviation technicians with its air force. They were returning to camp when the vehicle was attacked with explosives and set on fire. The four managed to flee the burning vehicle, the military said, but contact with them was then lost.

US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz told a UN Security Council meeting on Haiti on Monday that the vehicle was hit by hundreds of bullets and explosives while the soldiers were returning to base from a market. Waltz condemned the attack, said the United States believes the four men survived, and said, in his words, we will bring you home.

Search blocked by fighting

Salvadoran helicopters sent to help came under fire as they dispersed armed men in the area, the Salvadoran military said. It said multiple attempts to approach by land and air have been made, but these have been hampered by the intensity of the fighting.

A spokesman for the Gang Suppression Force, Igor Rugwiza, told Reuters the mission was still searching for the four amid heavy fighting. The force said a vehicle carrying its personnel came under attack in the Santo area of Croix-des-Bouquets and advised residents there to remain indoors while it assesses the situation.

Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN secretary general, condemned the attack in New York on Monday and called for the soldiers' immediate and safe release, Reuters reported. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Gangs hold the area

Reuters reported that the Santo area, on the northeastern outskirts of Port-au-Prince, is where the Chen Mechan and 400 Mawozo armed groups hold sway. AP reported the wider area is also controlled by gangs including Kraze Barye, led by Vitelhomme Innocent, and 400 Mawozo, led by Lanmo Sanjou. Both leaders have been sanctioned by the UN and the United States.

The UN Security Council authorized the 5,550 member Gang Suppression Force in September 2025 to replace a Kenya led multinational force that struggled with a lack of funds and resources. The new force is still building up. UN News reported it had 1,563 uniformed members as of Oct 12, 2026, far below the authorized strength, and has set up a base in the Artibonite region beyond the capital.

Jack Christofides, the force's special representative, told the Security Council on Monday that gangs are testing the force and that attacks against it have recently increased. He said gangs have carried out reprisal killings in some areas after operations by Haitian and international forces.

Gang violence has displaced nearly 1.5 million people in Haiti, a record, according to the UN. More than 5,700 people were killed or injured from January to mid-September, and more than 230 others were kidnapped. Haiti's presidential and legislative elections, planned for Dec 13, were postponed indefinitely two weeks ago, UN News reported, and the country has not held national elections since 2016.