Bukele says Salvadoran troops destroyed 400 Mawozo gang headquarters in Haiti

Bukele claims the strike on the gang's headquarters

Nayib Bukele said on X on Tuesday, 10 November, that Salvadoran forces had destroyed the house of Wilson Joseph, known as Lanmò San Jou, and the headquarters of the 400 Mawozo gang, one of the nine large gangs operating in Haiti. He posted a video showing at least three helicopters circling and firing on a two-storey building in Croix-des-Bouquets, near Port-au-Prince, while people fled the site. His message, written in Haitian Creole, said most gang members ran away without trying to fight. According to reporting, Joseph was not killed in the attack, and pro-government media in El Salvador said he was not inside the house at the time.

Death toll and timing

The Miami Herald reported, citing anonymous sources, that the attack took place on Sunday, 8 November, was carried out by Haitian police with support from Salvadoran troops, and killed at least 20 people. Al Jazeera reported the same toll. Bukele's post did not give a date for the strike or mention casualties. In the days before the attack, Bukele had replied on X to a user who shared a photo of what was described as the gang's headquarters, asking for its exact address and offering to destroy it.

More than 2,000 soldiers in Haiti

Salvadoran troops were sent to Haiti after four Salvadoran personnel disappeared in an ambush on 18 October in the Santo area of Croix-des-Bouquets. Since mid-October, El Salvador has sent more than 2,000 soldiers, although The Independent put the figure at some 2,500. Most of them are not part of the UN-backed Gang Suppression Force (GSF). UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said in a statement that only 200 Salvadoran personnel have UN endorsement and answer to the UN, and that any security operation must fully respect applicable international law. EL PAÍS reported no word on the whereabouts of the four missing personnel.

The Dominican Republic's president, Luis Abinader, said his government is collaborating with Bukele by providing logistics and intelligence, and pledged to keep helping. He called on the GSF to coordinate its actions with the Salvadoran troops.

Washington, the GSF and rights groups

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States is not involved in the operations, ruling out US troops and direct support, and warned that GSF soldiers and Salvadoran troops could fire on each other if they mistake one another for gangs. GSF spokesman Igor Rugwiza described the force's position in a statement:

“The (force) considers effective coordination and deconfliction among all security actors operating in Haiti to be essential to achieving sustainable security outcomes.”

Amnesty International has urged both governments to publish the agreement behind the deployment. Its Americas director, Ana Piquer, said:

“Both governments must make public the agreement governing the deployment and explain how they oversee the deployed forces.”

Background and what comes next

Bukele declared a state of emergency in El Salvador in 2022, and about 93,000 suspected gang members have been arrested under it since then. UN figures put the number of people displaced by gangs in Haiti at about 1.5 million. Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé is scheduled to visit El Salvador in the week of 16 November 2026 to discuss the future of the Salvadoran troops in Haiti.