Why does El Salvador's Bukele have troops in Haiti?

Haiti's Prime Minister congratulating El Salvador's President for a gang crackdown in Haiti has shone a light on the relationship between the two countries. What's going on, and where does the US stand?

Haiti has been engulfed in crisis since 2018, with protests, a presidential assassination and widespread gang violence bringing the country to its knees. But earlier this week, Haiti's Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime hailed a major win in the battle against the violence, thanks to "the commitment of the Salvadorean forces in the fight against gangs." El Salvador's President, Nayib Bukele had earlier said a joint task force between the countries had "destroyed" what he called "the house of Lanmo San Jou and the 400 Mawozo gang's headquarters." He also tweeted out an as-yet unverified video of helicopters firing on a sprawling property.

A number of Salvadoran troops have been stationed in Haiti, nearly 2,000 kilometers from their homeland, since the beginning of 2025, mostly in an attempt to curb gang influence.