SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — On Wednesday, the legislative assembly of El Salvador voted in favor of a plan to dispatch troops to Haiti as part of a United Nations initiative aimed at assisting with medical evacuations in the troubled Caribbean nation.
Patricia Aguilera, the director of legal affairs at El Salvador’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, presented this initiative to the lawmakers, stating it aligns with the country’s commitment to the U.N.’s Multinational Security Support Mission in Haiti.
While Aguilera did not specify the number of soldiers to be sent, she noted that their operations would be limited to medical evacuations due to their experience in previous U.N. missions. “As a nation, we aim to be a model of security internationally, which is why we are providing assistance specifically in the realm of medical evacuations, as this is our area of expertise,” she stated.
Haiti has been grappling with persistent political instability and economic crisis. Earlier this year, a wave of orchestrated attacks by gangs forced officials to shut down the primary international airport for almost three months.
Recently, gang violence has escalated in Port-au-Prince, with reports indicating that over 10,000 individuals were displaced within just a week due to the unrest, as reported by the U.N.’s International Organization for Migration.
Concerns have emerged regarding the effectiveness of a U.N. mission led by Kenyan police, which has struggled to maintain order amid the ongoing chaos. This year alone, thousands have been either killed or injured, with over 700,000 individuals rendered homeless in recent times. Haitian authorities have expressed their desire for the poorly funded Kenyan mission to be replaced with a more robust U.N. peacekeeping force.
El Salvador is part of an agreement facilitated by the Organization of American States to offer support to the mission in Haiti, with their troop commitment set to last until October 2025. However, the timeline for the actual deployment of troops remains unclear.
Earlier in the year, El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele proposed extending his government’s security strategies to Haiti, citing successes in reducing gang violence within his own country. Under his leadership, a state of emergency has prevailed for over two years, suspending certain civil liberties and resulting in the arrest of more than 83,000 alleged gang members.
As a result of these initiatives, homicide rates in El Salvador have significantly dropped, and residents in several neighborhoods once under gang dominance report feeling safer in their communities.