Bukele says remains found in Haiti are not his technicians
The UN-backed force says it still cannot confirm whose they are; the four Salvadorans have been missing since Oct. 18.
Remains handed over in Haiti do not belong to the four missing Salvadoran technicians, President Nayib Bukele says. The multinational force they served with says it cannot yet confirm whose they are.
"They are not our men," Bukele wrote on X on Saturday. He described the remains as those of a child, a man "considerably taller" than the technicians and another person wearing part of a different army's uniform.
The Gang Suppression Force (GSF), the UN-authorized contingent fighting the gangs of Port-au-Prince, was more cautious. Its statement on Sunday says the remains came from an outside organization and that their identity has not been verified. It neither backs nor rejects Bukele's account. A military ID card that circulated online, the force added, belongs to a Chadian soldier who is still with his unit.
The four are aviation technicians in the Salvadoran army, assigned to medical evacuations, their government says. They vanished Oct. 18 in Santo, in the Croix-des-Bouquets commune north of the Haitian capital, after their vehicle was hit with explosives and caught fire. Bukele later announced a rescue operation, as we reported Wednesday.
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| Oct. 18 | Ambush in Santo; contact with the four technicians is lost |
| Oct. 21 | Bukele announces a military operation to rescue them |
| Oct. 22 | A Salvadoran contingent arrives to help with the search |
| Oct. 24 | Bukele denies that the remains found are his men |
| Oct. 25 | Statement on the remains: their identity has not been verified |
The UN in El Salvador condemned the attack on Saturday and called for the technicians' "immediate and safe return." Until the remains are identified, their families have no official answer.
No group has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping. Haiti's government calls their release an "absolute priority."
