SAN SALVADOR — El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele said Wednesday he had launched a military operation to rescue four Salvadoran aviation technicians kidnapped by gangs in Haiti, warning of a more forceful response if they are not released alive and unharmed.Gangs in Haiti had opened fire on an armored vehicle three days earlier the first major attack since an international gang suppression force began operating in the violence-wracked Caribbean country.The four Salvadoran soldiers have been missing since they fled the burning vehicle in the Santo area of Croix-des-Bouquets, Port-au-Prince.Addressing Haitian gang leaders, Bukele demanded that they return the Salvadorans "alive, unharmed" and warned that, if they do so, "everything will go back to the way it was before the kidnapping." If not, the Salvadoran leader — who drew international attention for his contentious war on his own country's gangs — said it would result in a more powerful operation."Today's attack is nothing compared to what is coming if they do not release the four hostages alive.
And do not take our words as empty threats," he wrote on the social media platform X.It was not immediately clear if Bukele intended any further action to be carried out by Salvadoran, Haitian or international security forces in the area.In his post, the Salvadoran leader shared video of armored vehicles with shattered windows driving through plumes of smoke.Haiti's government issued a news release Wednesday evening saying the "abduction" of the aviation technicians was an "absolute priority."It noted that a meeting was held at the prime minister's office "to assess the ongoing interventions and determine the necessary measures to strengthen operations, in close collaboration with the Gang Repression Force.""The release of the abducted soldiers is an absolute priority, and all necessary resources are being mobilized to achieve this goal," the government said.It wasn't immediately clear if Haitian authorities rece...