Yes, this is confirmed by wire services. On Wednesday, October 21, 2026, President Nayib Bukele said his government had launched a military operation to rescue four Salvadoran aviation technicians held by gangs in Haiti. Reuters reports he did not give details of the operation or say which gang holds the men. AP reports the men were kidnapped after an attack on Sunday, and that the announcement came three days after gangs fired on an armored vehicle, the first major attack since the international Gang Suppression Force began operating in Haiti.
The X post is a fair summary of Bukele's own statement. The 'eradicate' wording is the post's paraphrase, though. Bukele's words were that El Salvador could finish the gangs as it had finished those at home, and that today's attack was nothing compared with what would follow if the four men were not returned alive. Bukele says the men were not combatants but aviation technicians on a medical-evacuation mission. El Salvador already has troops in Haiti through the Gang Suppression Force, a UN-backed effort that Reuters says has reached only about a third of its planned size.
The hostages' fate and the gang's identity were still unknown in the reporting I found, so check the wires for updates.
🕒 As of October 2026
