From BBC News · · 1m 50s
El Salvador destroys Haiti gang headquarters
El Salvador's military strikes a complex it says belongs to 400 Mawozo, Haiti's largest crime gang, in its first operation since deploying 2,000 troops to rescue four missing technicians.
In brief
El Salvador's military strikes a complex it says belongs to 400 Mawozo, Haiti's largest crime gang, in its first operation since deploying 2,000 troops to rescue four missing technicians. El Salvador's military destroyed what its president says is the headquarters of 400 Mawozo, Haiti's largest gang, in its first…
El Salvador strikes gang stronghold
El Salvador's military attacked a complex on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince that President Nayib Bukele says is the headquarters of 400 Mawozo, Haiti's largest crime gang known for kidnappings and extortion.
First operation since deployment
This is El Salvador's first military action on a Haitian target since it deployed more than two thousand soldiers there last month to rescue four missing Salvadoran air force technicians abducted in October.
Bukele announces destruction
President Bukele posted video of helicopters firing on the complex in the suburb of Croix-des-Bouquets, saying most gang members fled without fighting.
“We destroyed the house of Lanmò San Jou and the 400 Mawozo gang's headquarters”
Casualties and damage unclear
Several media outlets reported as many as twenty people were killed, but authorities have not confirmed this.
Gang leader reportedly absent
The Miami Herald reports that gang leader Wilson Joseph, known as Lanmò San Jou, was not at the complex during the attack.
Haiti's PM backs the operation
Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé thanked El Salvador's military commitment in fighting gangs and said the two nations would work together with the UN-backed Gang Suppression Force to regain control and restore state authority.
Human rights concerns raised
Critics question whether Salvadoran troops operate within the Gang Suppression Force command structure. Amnesty International urged both countries to ensure operations comply with international human rights law, but Bukele appears unfazed by such concerns.
The one thing
El Salvador's military destroyed what its president says is the headquarters of 400 Mawozo, Haiti's largest gang, in its first strike since deploying troops to rescue four missing technicians.
