El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele has announced that his country’s forces destroyed the headquarters of Haiti’s 400 Mawozo gang in a military operation near the capital, Port-au-Prince.
Bukele made the announcement on Tuesday, November 10, sharing a video on X showing helicopters firing at a large compound in Croix-des-Bouquets, an area associated with the gang.
In his post, the Salvadoran leader said the operation targeted the residence of gang leader Wilson Joseph, also known as Lanmò San Jou, and the group’s headquarters. He claimed that most gang members fled without attempting to fight.
Reports indicate that the operation was carried out by a Haitian National Police drone task force with support from Salvadoran soldiers. The attack reportedly took place on Sunday.
Although some media reports have suggested that up to 20 people were killed, Haitian and Salvadoran authorities have not officially confirmed the death toll. The extent of the damage to the compound has also not been independently established.
The strike marks a major development in El Salvador’s involvement in Haiti’s security operations. More than 2,000 Salvadoran soldiers were deployed to the Caribbean nation last month following the disappearance of four Salvadoran aviation technicians who were abducted during an attack in October.
The four men were working as part of the United Nations-backed Gang Suppression Force (GSF), an international security mission supporting efforts to contain armed gangs in Haiti.
Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé welcomed the cooperation with El Salvador, saying both countries would continue working alongside the GSF to restore state authority and regain control of gang-affected areas.
However, the Salvadoran deployment has raised questions about coordination and the legal authority under which its troops are operating, particularly because concerns have emerged over whether all the soldiers are working within the GSF command structure.
Amnesty International has called on both governments to ensure that operations involving Salvadoran forces in Haiti comply with international human rights law.
The 400 Mawozo gang is among Haiti’s most notorious criminal organisations and is associated with kidnappings, extortion, murder and arms trafficking. Its leader, Wilson Joseph, was reportedly not present at the compound during the attack.
