OMM Newsroom
Four Salvadoran aviation technicians are unaccounted for after gangs attacked an armored vehicle in Haiti, in the first major assault on foreign troops since an international gang suppression force began operating in the country, “CNN” reported.
The attack took place on Sunday in Croix-des-Bouquets, a community in Port-au-Prince that is now controlled by gangs.
El Salvador’s armed forces said on Monday that the technicians were returning to camp when their vehicle was attacked with explosives and set on fire. The four men escaped the burning vehicle, and the military said it was working with international forces to contact them and determine their location.
Salvadoran authorities said helicopters were sent to the area but also came under fire as they dispersed armed men. Attempts to reach the site by land and air have been hampered by intense fighting, the military said.
Haiti’s deputy permanent representative to the UN, Wien-Weibert Arthus, told the UN Security Council on Monday that the weapons and ammunition used by gangs are not made in Haiti and will continue to find ways into the country. He said the incident highlighted the complexity of Haiti’s security challenges and expressed hope that the missing men would return to their families unharmed.
Gang violence has displaced nearly 1.5 million people across Haiti in recent years, a record, according to the UN. More than 5,700 people were killed or injured from January to mid-September, while more than 230 others were kidnapped.
US warns gangs against further attacks
Mike Waltz, the US ambassador to the UN, condemned the attack at the Security Council meeting. He said the US believed the four men had survived, though they remained unaccounted for, and said they would be brought home.
Waltz said the gangs had attacked the armored vehicle with “hundreds of bullets and explosives”. He warned that the attack would not intimidate the coalition into retreating.
The gang suppression force said it was assessing the situation and had advised residents in the area to stay indoors. Its special representative, Jack Christofides, said attacks on the force had recently increased and that gangs were testing it.
Christofides said gangs had carried out reprisal killings in some areas after operations by Haitian and international forces. He also said they had pushed further into areas including Kenscoff and the Artibonite region, adding that the force could not be everywhere at once.
Haiti prepares for election amid gang violence
The area where the vehicle was attacked is controlled by gangs including Chèn Méchan, Kraze Barye, led by Vitelhomme Innocent, and 400 Mawozo, led by Lanmo Sanjou. The UN and the US have sanctioned both gang leaders.
Romain Le Cour, head of the Haiti Observatory at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, said some gangs had come under pressure since the force was deployed, while others wanted to demonstrate that they could strike back. He said that if the soldiers were being held, the groups could gain leverage to negotiate and pressure security forces.
In September 2025, the UN Security Council authorized the 5,550-member force to replace a former Kenya-led multinational force that had struggled with a lack of funding and resources while helping Haiti’s National Police combat gang violence.
The force has more than 2,000 troops in Haiti, including soldiers from Chad, Jamaica and Guatemala. Christofides said it was making a difference with the resources available and that authorities had begun to see early signs of reduced gang influence and control in some areas.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack. It comes as Haiti prepares for its first general election in more than a decade, while gangs control an estimated 70% of Port-au-Prince.
UN special envoy to Haiti Carlos Ruiz Massieu told Monday’s meeting that preparations for the election had reached an unprecedented level of progress. More than 35 parties and political groups and 3,500 candidates have registered, including former Haitian President Michel Martelly, who was sanctioned by Canada in November 2022 and by the US in August 2024. The US accused him of facilitating drug trafficking and sponsoring multiple gangs.
