Soldiers from El Salvador join UN-backed mission in Haiti to combat gang violence

Members of a U.N.-backed El Salvadoran police force walk on... — Members of a U.N.-backed El Salvadoran police force walk on the tarmac of the Toussaint Louverture International Airport after landing in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025. Credit: AP/Odelyn Joseph

By The Associated PressUpdated February 4, 2025

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — A military contingent from El Salvador arrived in Haiti on Tuesday to bolster a U.N.-backed mission led by Kenyan police to help fight gangs that killed thousands of people last year and control much of the capital.

The 70 soldiers will provide expertise in air support, which Kenyan officials said will be critical for medical evacuations.

The Salvadorans are the latest to join the mission in recent months.

Additional police officers from Kenya were deployed last month for a total of more than 600 now in Haiti. They have been joined by police, soldiers and other officials from countries including Jamaica and Guatemala.

Gang violence keeps surging across Port-au-Prince and beyond, with gunmen in recent days killing at least 40 people in an upscale community.

The U.S. and other countries have warned that the Kenya-led mission lacks funding and personnel as they push to transform it into a U.N.-peacekeeping mission.

More than 5,600 people were reported killed last year across Haiti and more than 2,200 others were injured. Gang violence has left more than one million people homeless in recent years, according to the U.N.