US officials challenge Trump's ally in Salvador, exposing White House rift over Haiti.
Some senior Trump administration officials oppose El Salvador's military intervention in Haiti, despite the support of US presidents, Axios reports.
The controversy centers on Salvadoran President Naive Buckles' deployment of 2,000-2,500 heavily armed troops to Haiti in late October, following the October 18 kidnapping of four Salvadoran Air Force aviation technicians by criminal gangs near Port-au-Prince.
US High Commissioner to Haiti David Howell reportedly told Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime that El Salvador's intervention in the country is not coordinated with the UN-backed Gang Suppression Force (GSF). He warned that it could cause casualties among GSF soldiers and civilians, while "their small arms fire hit the US embassy, and almost hit US personnel. ".
El Salvador has officially denied the accusations, while the countries' president, Naive Bukala, has quoted Trump as giving him the green light to "do what we need to do" to stabilize Haiti.
Mission to El Salvador Haiti.
Buckles' troops joined an already crowded security landscape where Haitian police and military forces, the UN-backed GSF and private contractors working for Eric Prince and Catos Global are fighting criminal gangs with limited success.
On Nov. 8, Haitian police and Salvadoran forces raided a home belonging to Wilson Joseph, leader of the 400 Mabozo, one of Haiti's most powerful gangs, but were unable to capture or kill him, according to the Associated Press. Before the operation, Bukla asked X for information on the whereabouts of the gang leaders and was provided with what appeared to be his coordinates.
Although reports indicate that Salvadoran forces are operating under an agreement signed by Haiti and El Salvador, the terms of the agreement remain undisclosed, raising concerns about the legality of the Buckles campaign.