El Salvador to Send Over 2,000 Troops to Haiti as Elections Are Pushed Back to 2027

El Salvador intends to send more than 2,000 soldiers to Haiti to look for four missing Salvadoran aviation technicians and to take on armed gangs, its Foreign Ministry announced on Wednesday. The pledge came as Haiti pushed back its national elections yet again.

On the same day, Haiti's electoral authorities moved the first round of presidential and parliamentary voting from December 13 to July 18, 2027. The postponement is the latest obstacle to restoring an elected government in a country where gang violence has made preparing for a vote dangerous.

The four Salvadorans vanished on October 18, when armed men ambushed their vehicle in Croix-des-Bouquets, east of the capital, Port-au-Prince. They were serving with an international security mission that supports Haitian police. President Nayib Bukele has already dispatched troops to help find them.

In an October 21 post on X, written in Haitian Creole, Bukele threatened to destroy Haiti's gangs if they did not free the missing personnel. On Wednesday he spoke by telephone with Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime. The prime minister's office said the two leaders agreed to strengthen cooperation on rescue efforts and security operations.

It is not yet clear whether the additional Salvadoran troops will join the United Nations-backed Gang Suppression Force, a multinational mission helping Haitian police confront the gangs, or operate on their own. Foreign troops have been present in Haiti under UN-backed security arrangements since 2024, partly to create safer conditions for elections.

Haiti's nine-member Provisional Electoral Council, which organises the country's votes, also set a second round and local elections for October 4, 2027. It extended candidate registration deadlines and introduced online voter registration.

Registration remains slow. The Miami Herald reported that fewer than 900,000 people had signed up by Wednesday, out of 6.5 million Haitians who hold the identification cards required to enrol. Gang-controlled roads make registration centres hard to reach, and violence has driven many people from their homes.

Haiti has held no elections since 2016, and its last president, Jovenel Moise, was assassinated in 2021. Successive transitional authorities have put off a return to voting, citing insecurity.

The humanitarian situation is also severe. An international food security assessment released on Wednesday found that 5.94 million Haitians face acute hunger, including 1.8 million in emergency conditions, as violence disrupts farming and food deliveries. The number facing acute hunger is projected to climb to 6.35 million by mid-2027.