A new contingent of 70 Salvadoran military personnel arrived in Haiti on February 4 to join the Multinational Security Support Mission (MSSMH). The Salvadoran troops will assist the Haitian National Police in combating heavily armed criminal gangs that have plunged the Caribbean nation into a severe security crisis.

This group follows an advance team of seven members of the Salvadoran Air Force, who arrived in Haiti on January 3. The Salvadoran forces bring valuable expertise in aerial support operations, particularly in casualty evacuation (Casevac) and medical evacuation (Medevac).

The Salvadoran troops were welcomed at Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince by Leslie Voltaire, President of Haiti’s Transitional Presidential Council, along with Assistant Inspector General Godfrey Otunge, commander of the Multinational Security Mission and leader of the Kenyan police contingent. Several government officials and diplomats were also present at the reception.

The establishment of the MSSMH was approved by the United Nations Security Council in October 2023, though it is not an official UN mission. The primary goal of the MSSMH is to support Haitian authorities in countering armed criminal groups and restoring internal order.

The mission, which is expected to include 2,500 military and police personnel, is led by Kenya. To date, it comprises 617 officers from the Kenyan National Police Service, with a total of 1,000 planned for deployment. Additional personnel include two officers from the Belize Defence Force, 20 members of the Jamaica Defence Force, four from the Jamaica Constabulary Force, six from the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, 150 from the Guatemalan Army, and 78 military personnel from El Salvador.

The deployment of Salvadoran troops underscores the country’s commitment to international security efforts and its experience in supporting peacekeeping and humanitarian missions abroad.