Bukele Sends 2,000 Troops Into Haiti With Trump's Blessing

El Salvador has moved more than 2,000 soldiers into Haiti, and President Trump gave the effort his blessing, Axios reported Friday.

According to Axios, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele called Trump on Tuesday to make sure the White House had no objection to the escalation. “Do what you have to do,” Trump told him, according to sources briefed on the call, Axios reported. Haiti’s government has agreed to the deployment, and Axios reported that the force was authorized under a bilateral agreement with Haiti approved Wednesday as Salvadoran special forces and equipment began arriving.

Pèp ayisyen,

Nou prèske fin deplwaye sòlda nou yo ak ekipman nou yo sou tè Ayiti. Sa a se pa yon operasyon kont pèp ayisyen an, ni yon envazyon peyi Ayiti. Nou pa yon gwo pisans. Nou pa gen okenn enterè ni pou nou vin domine pèp ayisyen an, ni pou nou mete men sou richès Ayiti.… pic.twitter.com/AZ1XvdeJje

— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) October 29, 2026

A rescue mission that became a gang fight

The operation began with four missing men. The BBC reported that four Salvadoran air force technicians serving with the UN-backed Gang Suppression Force were ambushed while traveling back to their base in an armored vehicle in Croix-des-Bouquets, an area east of Port-au-Prince controlled by armed groups. Al Jazeera reported that they disappeared on October 18, and the BBC reported that no gang has claimed responsibility. Haiti’s government says the men were kidnapped, according to Euronews.

El Salvador’s foreign ministry said in a statement Wednesday that Bukele told Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé about the “robust deployment” earlier in the week, and that the soldiers would also assist “security efforts against gangs in Haiti,” the BBC reported. Al Jazeera reported that Bukele had already warned in an October 21 post on X, written in Haitian Creole, directly to Haiti’s gangs, demanding the return of the missing personnel.

Bukele’s message to Haitians

In a video message posted on X Thursday and written in Haitian Creole, Bukele told Haitians that his troops and equipment were almost fully deployed. He wrote that the operation is neither aimed at the Haitian people nor an invasion of Haiti, and that El Salvador has no interest in dominating Haiti or taking its wealth. Euronews reported that Bukele said El Salvador is covering 90% of the cost and that the mission will end when the four technicians come home.

Axios reported that the 2,000-troop figure could double or triple, according to its sources.

Why it matters to America

Haiti sits roughly 700 miles from Florida, and Axios noted the country has lacked a president since Jovenel Moïse was assassinated five years ago. Axios reported that more than 5,700 people have been killed in gang violence there this year. The outlet also reported that the mission could become a test of whether allies like Bukele and security contractor Erik Prince could act as private and public stand-ins for U.S. power in the hemisphere.

The Associated Press reported that Haitian police and soldiers are now backed by the Salvadoran troops as gangs keep fighting them.

The violence has already pushed back Haiti’s return to elected government. The AP reported that Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council announced late Wednesday that the first round of general elections will be held July 18 and a second round on October 4, after a planned December 13 first round was delayed by gang violence. Al Jazeera reported that it remains unclear whether the new Salvadoran troops will join the UN-backed force or operate separately.

Reporting by Daily Beltway.