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President Nayib Bukele stated on November 10, 2026, that Salvadoran troops destroyed the house of 400 Mawozo leader Wilson Joseph, known as Lanmò San Jou, along with the gang’s headquarters in Croix-des-Bouquets near Port-au-Prince. A video posted by Bukele on X showed helicopters firing on the two-story building, with people seen fleeing the area as explosions occurred. According to the Miami Herald, the strike was carried out by a Haitian police task force supported by Salvadoran soldiers and private contractors using drones and four helicopters, two operated by El Salvador. Bukele wrote in Haitian Creole that his forces had fulfilled a promise after a user provided the address days earlier, adding that most gang members ran away without fighting.
The operation on November 8 came weeks after Bukele deployed more than 2,000 soldiers to Haiti at the end of October, a move that followed the October 18 ambush of four Salvadoran aviation technicians who remain missing. Reuters reported that the troops were sent to rescue the technicians, who were part of the UN-backed Gang Suppression Force, though Bukele has indicated a wider aim to confront the gangs. A Reuters security official confirmed around 2,000 Salvadoran personnel were in place by late October, with El Salvador covering 90 percent of the costs. The deployment has raised questions about command structure and rules of engagement, as most soldiers are not formally integrated into the UN force.
InSight Crime has documented that 400 Mawozo, founded around 2020 and led by Joseph, counts roughly 300 members though some estimates reach 1,000, and controls strategic areas including Croix-des-Bouquets and key border crossings with the Dominican Republic. The gang generates revenue through kidnappings, extortion, arms and drug trafficking, and smuggling, having first drawn international attention with the October 2021 abduction of 17 Christian missionaries from the United States and Canada. According to InSight Crime, the group specializes in high-volume express kidnappings along roads, often releasing victims after small ransoms, while also engaging in larger operations that have included tourists and foreigners.
Joseph, who is under UN Security Council sanctions, was not present during the attack on what pro-government Salvadoran media described as a property he had seized. France 24 reported that the gang leader subsequently called on UN Secretary-General António Guterres to mediate following the arrival of the Salvadoran contingent. The Miami Herald cited anonymous sources stating that 20 people died in the raid, though Bukele’s account emphasized the lack of resistance from those inside.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters that Washington is not involved in the Salvadoran operations and has voiced concerns over potential clashes due to unclear chains of command within the Gang Suppression Force. A CNN analysis noted that the Salvadoran presence adds uncertainty to Haiti’s security efforts, where gangs control large portions of the capital amid ongoing political instability. Reuters added that analysts question whether El Salvador’s domestic anti-gang approach of mass incarceration can translate effectively given Haiti’s collapsed institutions.
Haiti’s gangs, including 400 Mawozo which allies with groups like G-Pèp, have contributed to widespread violence that has displaced residents and disrupted essential services across the country. The UN-authorized force, established in September 2025, has struggled to deploy fully against the armed groups that dominate much of Port-au-Prince and surrounding regions. Bukele, who built his reputation on a strict crackdown against gangs in El Salvador, has framed the Haiti mission as both a rescue effort and an opportunity to assist in restoring order.
