Amnesty International Demands Transparency Over Salvadoran Troop Deployment in Haiti

Amnesty International has called on the governments of El Salvador and Haiti to disclose the legal and operational terms governing the deployment of 2,000 Salvadoran troops to the Caribbean nation. The human rights organization stated on Monday that both nations must ensure transparency regarding the rules of engagement and force oversight to prevent potential human rights abuses.

President Nayib Bukele dispatched the Salvadoran military contingent following the mid-October disappearance of four Salvadoran personnel in Haiti. While Bukele initially stated that the mission was aimed at locating and retrieving the missing individuals, he subsequently indicated a broader objective to eliminate Haitian gangs, referencing his domestic anti-gang campaigns. Most of the deployed Salvadoran soldiers are operating outside the framework of the United Nations-backed Gang Suppression Force (GSF).

Ana Piquer, the Americas Director at Amnesty International, urged the authorities to detail the chain of command and the standards governing the use of force. Piquer emphasized that citizens must have clear mechanisms to report potential violations without facing retaliatory measures. She added that military interventions against gang violence must not replicate the impunity and abuses documented during previous international deployments in Haiti.

In her official statement, Piquer addressed Bukele and Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime directly, requesting that all troop movements align with international human rights law. She called on both governments to disclose the framework regulating the mission and clarify how deployed personnel are held accountable. Both governments must make public the agreement governing the deployment and explain how they oversee the deployed forces, what rules govern the use of force, to whom they are accountable, and how people can report possible violations without fear of reprisals, Piquer said.

Amnesty International also urged both administrations to establish prompt, independent, and impartial investigative bodies to handle any allegations of wrongdoing. Neither government has publicly released the full text of the bilateral agreement governing the forces operating in the country.

Written by Martina Kirchner martina.kirchner@alpineweekly.com