Bukele defies NGO complaint from Haiti and denies bombings against civilians in Haiti

The president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, rejected this Saturday the accusations of a Haitian organization that denounced alleged bombings against civilians by Salvadoran forces deployed in Haiti, within the framework of an operation to locate four soldiers missing after an attack by armed gangs.

Through a message posted on his X account, the president questioned the veracity of the allegations and asserted that Salvadoran troops did not have the mentioned means at the time the attacks allegedly took place.

“Bombs? Our mission doesn’t even have bombs at its disposal”, stated Bukele, who also denied that any airstrikes or actions with armed helicopters had been carried out.

The ruler explained that the Salvadoran attack helicopters arrived in Haitian territory on October 29 and stated that, as of this Saturday, they had not participated in any mission.

Bukele accuses the organization of spreading false information

The president accompanied his post with an image of the letter that the United Nations Association-Haiti (UNA-Haiti) allegedly sent to the Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), António Guterres, to denounce the alleged attacks.

According to the information released by Bukele, the complaint indicated that since October 22, Salvadoran troops had allegedly attacked civilian neighborhoods in Croix-des-Bouquets and Canaan using air operations, armed helicopters, and heavy weapons.

The president questioned that the document was published on October 28, one day before the arrival of the attack helicopters, and accused certain non-governmental organizations of acting in favor of criminal groups.

Bukele also maintained that UNA-Haiti is not officially part of the UN, but rather a defense organization linked to the Haitian diaspora.

Up to the information provided in the original report, the accusations and the response from the Salvadoran Government had not been accompanied by a conclusive independent verification.

More than 2,000 Salvadoran soldiers deployed in Haiti

The controversy occurs as more than 2,000 Salvadoran troops participate in an operation in Port-au-Prince to locate four comrades missing since October 18, when members of the Gang Suppression Force (GSF) were ambushed by armed groups.

Over the last few days, Salvadoran soldiers have carried out patrols in sectors of Tabarre and in the vicinity of the Toussaint Louverture International Airport, in the Haitian capital.

The troops have been seen with combat uniforms, assault rifles, and armored vehicles, in addition to having helicopter support.

The deployment is part of the efforts to locate the four soldiers, whose fate remains unclear, according to the report.

Bukele warns Haitian gangs

The Salvadoran president defended the operation and assured that his country has experience in combating criminal structures, in reference to the security measures applied in El Salvador.

“If we finish off the gangs here, we can finish them off,” the president stated during a declaration made in the context of the visit of the president of Peru, Keiko Fujimori.

The presence of Salvadoran forces comes amid the severe security crisis facing Haiti, where armed gangs maintain control of large areas and pose a challenge to authorities and international missions.