The headquarters of one of Haiti’s largest crime gangs has been destroyed by El Salvador’s military, the Salvadoran president has said.
The infamous 400 Mawozo gang, which is known for kidnappings and intimidation tactics, was targeted in a ground and air attack at a complex on the outskirts of Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince.
It is El Salvador’s first military action on a Haitian target since it deployed more than 2,000 soldiers there last month, as part of a mission to rescue four missing Salvadoran technicians.
Haiti has been plagued by gang violence for years, with heavily armed groups controlling large parts of the capital, and beyond.
El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele announced the news on X, boasting that most of the gang members fled without trying to fight.
“We destroyed the house of [gang leader] Lanmò San Jou and the 400 Mawozo gang’s headquarters,” he wrote on Tuesday.
The post was accompanied by video of several helicopters firing on a large complex, reportedly in the suburb of Croix-des-Bouquets, the gang’s stronghold.
As the helicopters circle above, dozens of people can be seen running out of the property, fleeing the strikes.
Several media outlets have reported that as many as 20 people were killed, however that has not been confirmed by authorities. There has also been no official confirmation of the extent of the damage at the property, with Haitians questioning whether it has been destroyed or just damaged.
The Miami Herald reports that the gang’s leader, Wilson “Lanmò San Jou” Joseph, was not there at the time.
The BBC has not been able to verify the video posted by Bukele, nor whether the property is indeed the gang’s headquarters.
Haiti’s National Police drone task force was involved in the attack, supported by Salvadoran soldiers, the Miami Herald reports, citing several sources.
Posting on X after the strikes, Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé thanked the Salvadoran military’s commitment “in the fight against gangs”, and said the two nations would keep working together, along with the UN-backed Gang Suppression Force (GSF), to “regain control of the territory and restore state authority”.
“THE GANGS WILL GET NO SLEEP!” he added.
Some 2,000 Salvadoran soldiers were deployed to Haiti last month after four air force technicians were abducted at gunpoint while food shopping in October.
El Salvador’s right-wing president has vowed to bring the men home alive and warned the gang to release them immediately or face sustained pressure from his military.
The four abducted men were working as part of the GSF, made up of troops from several nations, initially led by soldiers from Chad.
President Bukele’s move to send thousands of Salvadoran troops to Haiti has raised concerns, with critics saying they are not all working within the command structure of the GSF. It has raised questions about the operational legitimacy and legality of their actions in the Caribbean nation.
Amnesty International has urged both countries to “ensure all operations conducted by Salvadoran forces in Haiti comply with international human rights law”.
Such concerns do not appear to phase Bukele, however, who continues to directly warn and target the gang leaders.
The attack on the supposed gang headquarters seemingly came after a user on X had urged Bukele to attack the complex.
“Where is that house? Give us the exact address, and we’ll destroy it,” he replied to the post, which has now been taken down, apparently for violating X’s rules.
The 400 Mawozo gang is the largest criminal organisation in Haiti, and known for kidnappings, extortion, murders and arms trafficking.
Haiti is the poorest country in the Americas and remains largely under gang control.
At least 5,700 people have been killed or injured there by gangs or during operations against them between 1 January and 11 September this year alone, the United Nations has said.
El Salvador has recorded huge reductions in gang violence under President Bukele as part of a sweeping crackdown, and he has vowed to do the same in Haiti.
However, human rights groups have argued that the way he has done it is unlawful, with the open-ended extension of emergency laws, the treatment of detainees in El Salvador’s high-security mega-prison and the mass trials of alleged gang members.
By BBC News
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