Port-au-Prince:San Salvador Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has defended the country's forces stationed in Haiti against allegations of conducting criminal acts, specifically rejecting claims of airstrikes against civilians.
According to Anadolu Agency – English, President Bukele stated that the Salvadoran mission does not possess bombs, questioning the feasibility of the alleged attacks before the arrival of Salvadoran attack helicopters. He clarified that the helicopters reached Haiti on October 29, a day before Drop Site News reported the allegations, and had not yet flown any missions as of Saturday.
The allegations were brought forward by the United Nations Association-Haiti (UNA-Haiti) in an open letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on October 30. The letter accused Salvadoran forces of aerial bombardments and operations involving helicopter gunships and heavy weapons in densely populated areas near Port-au-Prince, such as Croix-des-Bouquets, Canaan, and La Plaine du Cul-de-Sac. UNA-Haiti called for an investigation into alleged civilian casualties, claiming that children were being killed by foreign forces rather than armed gangs.
President Bukele dismissed these accusations, arguing that non-governmental organizations were spreading false information while wielding influence over international organizations. He described these groups as lobbying entities for criminal gangs, disguised as humanitarian organizations.
El Salvador's military presence in Haiti followed an incident on October 18, where four Salvadoran aviation technicians went missing after a gang ambush. President Bukele described the deployment as a mission to rescue the missing personnel. The allegations of aerial attacks have yet to be independently verified.