# Bukele warns Haitian gangs who kidnapped Salvarodan aviation techs: return hostages or face his wrath

By Lorrie Posobiec · Published 2026-10-22 · News & Analysis › World · https://humanevents.com/news/bukele-warns-haitian-gangs-who-kidnapped-salvarodan-aviation-techs-return-hostages-or-face-his

> "We have launched a military operation to rescue them. We have a single objective: to bring our four compatriots back home alive, without any harm."

Nayib Bukele, President of El Salvador, has issued a strong warning to gangs in [Haiti](https://humanevents.com/news/rapper-wyclef-jean-says-haitians-who-live-in-america-should-get-to-vote-in-haiti) that are holding four of his citizens hostage. This warning comes after four [Salvadoran](https://humanevents.com/news/right-wing-candidate-laura-fernandez-wins-costa-rican-presidency-in-first-round-vote) aviation technicians have been reported missing in the town of Croix-des-Bouquets, outside of the capital city of Port-au-Prince, according to the [NY Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/21/world/americas/el-salvador-military-haiti-gangs.html).

The four Salvadorans are part of the Gang Suppression Force, backed by the UN and sent to gain control of Haiti from gangs which have commandeered the nation. The Salvadoran team was allegedly ambushed on Sunday when leaving a supermarket and driving back to the base in an armored SUV, which was damaged by explosives. The Salvadorans escaped the SUV but have not been located since.

[Bukele](https://humanevents.com/news/posobiec-south-america-has-rejected-their-mamdani-era-theyre-entering-their-bukele-era) posted the warning in Creole directed at gang leaders holding the “four compatriots hostage.”

In a translation, his statement reads:

> "Our kidnapped men are not combatants. They are aviation technicians who are part of our mission in Haiti, within the framework of an international mission. Our mission consists only of pilots and technical personnel, whose primary job is to carry out medical evacuations and save lives, not to wage war. 
> However, they were kidnapped in a cowardly manner while returning after buying food at a market in the area. That is why, today, we have launched a military operation to rescue them. We have a single objective: to bring our four compatriots back home alive, without any harm. 
> However, I want you, the gang leaders, to understand one thing very clearly: today's attack is nothing compared to what is coming if we do not get all four hostages back alive. 
> And do not take our word for empty threats. We have already finished with the gangs in El Salvador, and we can finish with you too. We still have time to avoid this. Return our four compatriots to us alive, without any harm, and everything will go back to how it was before the kidnapping. The decision is in your hands."

[View on X](https://twitter.com/nayibbukele/status/2112981920741310695)

He said that the four men were aviation technicians, not combatants, and part of an international mission, whose main job is to carry out medical evacuations, but they were “kidnapped in a cowardly manner.”

Bukele has made El Salvador one of the safest nations due to his crackdown on gangs in his own country. His post included a video clip showing armored vehicles traveling down a war-torn-looking street.

The Gang Suppression Force, in Haiti since April, and a Haitian National Police task force have been fighting gang members for several days in the area where the kidnapping occurred, with some gang members reportedly having been killed along with 4 injuries to Gang Suppression Force members.

In the last 5 years, around 22,000 people have died in Haiti as gangs have taken over entire communities.

[Watch on Rumble](https://rumble.com/embed/v7ey2de/?pub=4)