El Salvador’s Bukele threatens Haitian gangs over abducted soldiers

President Nayib Bukele says he has initiated military operation to rescue four Salvadoran soldiers abducted in Haiti.El Salvador has initiated a military operation to rescue four Salvadoran soldiers abducted by gangs in Haiti, President Nayib Bukele announced in a post on X, without elaborating.Bukele, known for his intense crackdown on gang violence in El Salvador, warned in Wednesday’s statement that a more forceful response was coming if the personnel were not released alive and well.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Ecuador defends US sinking of vessels as joint anti-drug operationlist 2 of 3‘Handcuffed and blindfolded’: Is the US targeting Ecuadorian fishermen?list 3 of 3Trump rallies Latin American allies against drug cartelsend of list“Do not take our word for empty threats,” the president wrote, addressing the gangs allegedly responsible for holding the four men. “We have already finished with the gangs in El Salvador, and we can finish with you too.”Gangs in Haiti opened fire on an armoured vehicle carrying the men three days earlier, in the first major attack since an international gang suppression force began operating in the violence-wracked Caribbean country last year.The four men, aviation technicians with the United Nations-backed Gang Suppression Force (GSF), have been missing since they fled the burning vehicle in the Santo area of Croix-des-Bouquets, Port-au-Prince.‘Absolute priority’Haiti’s government issued a news release on Wednesday evening saying the release of the abducted soldiers was an “absolute priority”.It was not immediately clear if Haitian authorities received any confirmation that the Salvadoran soldiers are alive.The government said a meeting was held at the prime minister’s office “to assess the ongoing interventions and determine the necessary measures to strengthen operations, in close collaboration with the Gang Repression Force”.