Abinader offers Bukele logistical and intelligence support against gangs in Haiti

Dominican President Luis Abinader has offered his Salvadoran counterpart, Nayib Bukele, logistical and intelligence cooperation for operations conducted against gangs in Haiti. According to El Día, the two leaders spoke on Saturday. Le Quotidien 509 places the exchange on Saturday, October 24, a few minutes after a statement by Bukele regarding human remains. According to that media outlet, Abinader announced it himself on X.

The four missing Salvadorans

Four Salvadorans are missing in Haiti. According to Le Quotidien 509, they disappeared after an ambush on October 18. Bukele stated that the remains handed over to his team in Port-au-Prince were not theirs.

El Día describes them as aviation technicians kidnapped by criminal groups. This media outlet indicates that Salvadoran soldiers have been on Haitian soil since Thursday to find them.

A reinforced border

Abinader declared that his priority was the security of Dominican territory. He said that the security apparatus had been reinforced, especially in the south of the border with Haiti, where armed gangs operate. According to El Día and N Digital, this reinforcement involves more personnel and logistical resources. It also includes armored vehicles, aerial surveillance, and drones.

The leader recalled that the Dominican Republic was the first country to label these gangs as terrorists. If their members were to enter its territory, they would be treated as such, he warned.

N Digital reports that the authorities have not observed, for the moment, any sign of an influx of Haitian nationals toward the border. According to this media outlet, the Dominican government is monitoring the evolution of the situation constantly.

What the report does not specify

N Digital asserts that Santo Domingo remains in contact with the group tasked with fighting the gangs in Haiti. This group is not identified in the available information. The reports also do not specify the nature of the planned operations.