Bukele Issues Harsh Warning to Haitian Gangs

President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador issued a sharply worded warning to Haitian gang members who kidnapped four of his countrymen this week: We are coming for you.

Mr. Bukele said a military operation had been launched to rescue four missing Salvadoran aviation technicians who were abducted in a gang stronghold outside the capital on Sunday. Mr. Bukele was in discussions to send more troops to conduct operations and assist in the rescue attempt, according to a person familiar with the episode who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

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In a social media message written in Creole and directed at gang leaders, Mr. Bukele stressed that the four missing men were not combatants. El Salvador’s contingent in the Gang Suppression Force is made up of pilots and technical personnel whose primary job is to carry out medical evacuations and save lives, “not to wage war,” Mr. Bukele said.

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“I want you, the gang leaders, to understand one thing very clearly: today’s attack is nothing compared to what is coming if we do not get all four hostages back alive,” he wrote. “And do not take our word for empty threats. We have already finished with the gangs in El Salvador, and we can finish with you too.”

But he said gang members still have time to avoid repercussions.

“Return our four compatriots to us alive, without any harm, and everything will go back to how it was before the kidnapping,” he wrote. “The decision is in your hands.”

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