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El Salvador Sends 2,000 Troops to Hunt Missing UN Pilots

By Drooid · Oct 29, 2026 · How we work

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Summary

El Salvador deployed over 2,000 troops to Haiti to locate four missing UN-backed soldiers.
The soldiers vanished in an Oct. 18, 2026 ambush in Croix-des-Bouquets.
President Nayib Bukele said the missing personnel were pilots and medical-evacuation staff, not combatants.
The deployment exceeds the UN-mandated 5,500-troop cap for the Gang Suppression Force.
The United States flew C-130 aircraft to move the Salvadoran forces to Port-au-Prince.

History

In July 1994 the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 940, authorizing the United States to lead a multinational force that landed about 20,000 troops in Haiti to restore President Jean-Bertrand Aristide after the 1991 coup. The operation established UNMIH with a 5,500-troop limit, a benchmark cited as El Salvador’s 2026 deployment of over 2,000 soldiers exceeds, echoing the earlier foreign-troop surge.

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In July 1994 the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 940, authorizing the United States to lead a multinational force that landed about 20,000 troops in Haiti to restore President Jean-Bertrand Aristide after the 1991 coup. The operation established UNMIH with a 5,500-troop limit, a benchmark cited as El Salvador’s 2026 deployment of over 2,000 soldiers exceeds, echoing the earlier foreign-troop surge.

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