El Salvador launches operation to rescue hostages from Haitian gangs — President Bukele threatens to escalate

Nayib Bukele, the president of El Salvador, announced a military operation to rescue four hostages in Haiti and threatened the gangs involved.

In a statement on social media, Bukele issued a statement to the gang leaders and gang members that said if the hostages were not safely returned, he would mount a larger operation.

‘We have already finished with the gangs in El Salvador, and we can finish with you too.’

Bukele said in the post translated by X from Haitian Creole that the four hostages were “cowardly” taken after they went to a market.

“Our kidnapped men are not combatants,” he wrote. “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