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- US president says he discussed situation with Salvadoran counterpart Nayib Bukele after 4 aviation technicians went missing following gang ambush near Port-au-Prince
By Ahmet Salih Alacaci
WASHINGTON (AA) - US President Donald Trump suggested Saturday that some of the four Salvadoran aviation technicians missing in Haiti may have been killed, saying he discussed the situation with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele.
Speaking to reporters at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, Trump said Bukele had raised concerns about the security situation in Haiti following an attack on Salvadoran personnel.
"I did speak to him. He said that he has a big problem with Haiti. I said, look, you're running your country. You have to do what you have to do," Trump said.
"He had a big problem with Haiti. They killed some of his people. And I said, you're running your country, you have to do what you have to do," he added.
The remarks appeared to suggest that at least some of the four missing Salvadoran technicians had died, although their deaths have not been officially confirmed.
Asked whether Washington was considering providing assistance, Trump said: "He doesn't need help. He's in pretty good shape."
- El Salvador deploys over 2,000 troops to Haiti
El Salvador announced Wednesday that it was deploying more than 2,000 soldiers to Haiti to search for four Salvadoran aviation technicians who disappeared following a gang ambush near Port-au-Prince on Oct. 18.
The four technicians were serving with the UN-backed Gang Suppression Force, which supports Haitian authorities in combating armed criminal groups.
Bukele later confirmed on US social media platform X that he spoke with Trump.
The Salvadoran president had previously rejected reports that bodies recovered in Haiti belonged to the missing technicians.
Meanwhile, the office of Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime confirmed Wednesday that the Salvadoran and Haitian governments agreed to strengthen coordination on rescue operations and security.
