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Soldado salvadoreño en Haití
Tropas salvadoreñas desplegadas en Haití durante la ofensiva en la llanura de Cul-de-Sac. · ContraPunto

Salvadoran troops launch first major offensive against gangs in Haiti

Salvadoran troops launched on November 2 on the Cul-de-Sac plain their first major offensive against Chen Mechan and 400 Mawozo, alleged to bear responsibility…

Salvadoran troops deployed in Haiti launched this Monday, November 2, their first major offensive on the Cul-de-Sac plain, northeast of Port-au-Prince, against Chen Mechan and 400 Mawozo, in coordination with the Haitian National Police and the UN-backed Gang Suppression Force. --- The context --- Both organizations are alleged to bear responsibility for the disappearance of four Salvadoran soldiers, after an ambush in Croix-des-Bouquets, approximately two weeks earlier. Salvadoran troops began arriving in Port-au-Prince on October 22 to reinforce the operations and join that search. --- The facts --- According to information released by the agency, the soldiers advanced in about ten armored vehicles equipped with assault weapons, through apparently abandoned sectors, while gang members raised barricades. The operations include Carrefour Shada, the Croix-des-Missions bridge and Santo 17. Clashes in Santo and Croix-des-Missions reportedly left at least ten dead, according to cited reports, among members of the armed groups. A main target is 400 Mawozo, considered one of Haiti's most powerful criminal structures and led by Lanmò San Jou, for whom the United States maintains a reward of up to one million dollars. --- The positions --- The Haitian National Police confirmed a wide operation at different points on the plain, backed by the Gang Suppression Force, deployed under a United Nations mandate. According to the police statement, the actions seek to eliminate illegal toll posts, stop kidnappings and end abuses against the civilian population. --- What remains unknown --- The criminal coalition Viv Ansanm allegedly forced, under death threats, residents of La Plaine to protest against the security forces, calling the presence an «invasion». The organizations exercise territorial control, impose illegal tolls, carry out kidnappings and use the civilian population as an instrument of pressure. --- Unanswered questions --- Will the four missing soldiers be located? Will the operation weaken Chen Mechan and 400 Mawozo without increasing the risk for the civilian population? Can coordination between the Haitian authorities and the deployed forces be sustained? --- EPM analysis --- The offensive opens a new stage in Salvadoran participation, whose outcome will depend on international coordination, the capacity of the Haitian authorities and the effectiveness of the forces on the ground. 📌 EPM Take: In EPM's view, the offensive must be measured by two inseparable results: weakening the gangs that control territory, charge illegal tolls and kidnap, and clarifying the whereabouts of the four missing soldiers without shifting the cost onto the civilian population. The deployment begun on November 2 tests coordination with the National Police and the Gang Suppression Force. If that coordination protects the residents of Cul-de-Sac and recovers spaces, the operation will gain legitimacy; if not, the humanitarian risk will grow.
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