A joint military and police operation supported by El Salvador has carried out a major helicopter assault against strongholds belonging to the 400 Mawozo gang near Port-au-Prince, Haiti, officials reported.
According to reporting by Fox News, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele announced on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, that Salvadoran military assets assisted a Haitian police task force in executing the strikes on Sunday, November 8, 2026. The operation targeted the central compound of 400 Mawozo as well as the residence of its leader, Lanmò San Jou. The gang has long been implicated in mass kidnappings, weapons trafficking, and violent extortion networks across the capital region.
Video footage shared publicly by President Bukele showed multiple helicopters striking sprawling compound structures, followed by dozens of individuals fleeing the targeted perimeter on foot and motorcycles. Anonymous sources cited by The Miami Herald indicated that as many as 20 individuals were believed killed during the operation.
"We kept our promise," Bukele posted on X following the raid. Bukele characterized the retreat of gang members during the assault as an act of cowardice, asserting that armed combatants fled rather than confronting the incoming aerial force.
The strike represents an escalation in response to an October 18, 2026, ambush in which four Salvadoran personnel serving with a United Nations-backed security mission disappeared. Following that attack near Port-au-Prince, security forces recovered a burned armored vehicle without finding the personnel. In response, El Salvador deployed thousands of additional troops to assist in search-and-recovery operations. While Salvadoran officials maintain that the four personnel were abducted and may still be alive, an unnamed gang leader previously claimed they were killed.
Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé publicly acknowledged the joint raid on November 10, praising Bukele and expressing appreciation for the Salvadoran armed forces, the Haitian National Police, the Haitian Armed Forces, and the U.N.-backed Gang Suppression Force (GSF). Fils-Aimé affirmed that multilateral security collaboration will continue across the region.
