El Salvador planned to send about 1,000 soldiers to Haiti after four Salvadoran members of the international Gang Suppression Force disappeared following an ambush near Port-au-Prince. Their armoured vehicle was hit by explosives as they travelled to their base, and it remained unclear whether the four had been captured by a gang or were dead. The duration and command of the operation, as well as any possible increase in troop numbers, had not been decided publicly.

The force’s mandate runs until March 2027, but its roughly 2,000 personnel have made little progress against gangs, which were reported to control at least 80% of Haiti. The Haitian government had postponed presidential and parliamentary elections indefinitely because of insecurity, while violence was increasing in Port-au-Prince and rural areas. Doctors Without Borders said it had suspended some mobile clinics and water distribution, and warned that additional international troops could intensify the violence. The latest UN figures cited 1.5 million displaced people and more than 22,000 deaths from violence in Haiti over the previous five years.