Haiti’s Prime Minister, Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, will travel to El Salvador next week to discuss the future of the Salvadoran troops now operating in Haiti, as questions grow over the legal basis and the length of the deployment. A Salvadoran government official confirmed the visit to the Associated Press on Monday, saying Fils-Aimé will meet members of El Salvador’s government to talk about the mission.

It is not yet clear whether Fils-Aimé will meet directly with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele. El Salvador’s Vice President, Félix Ulloa, has said the visit will take place on 16 and 17 November, during an international conference on democracy in San Salvador.

Why Salvadoran troops are in Haiti

At least 2,500 Salvadoran forces are now operating in Haiti, according to the Associated Press, in an offensive against the country’s armed gangs that began in October. The deployment followed an ambush on 18 October in Croix-des-Bouquets, in which four Salvadoran aviation technicians went missing after an attack on a vehicle linked to the UN-backed Gang Suppression Force.

Gang leader Wilson Joseph, known as Lanmò San Jou, has told the Associated Press that the four are dead. El Salvador maintains that they are alive.

On Sunday, a Haitian police drone task force backed by Salvadoran soldiers destroyed a house used by Joseph, the leader of the powerful 400 Mawozo gang, in the latest strike of the campaign. Several gunmen were reported killed inside. Fils-Aimé wrote on social media: “One less gang leader.”

Questions over the mission

Salvadoran troops are operating in Haiti under an agreement signed between the two governments, but its terms have not been made public. Amnesty International has urged both governments to publish the agreement, and concerns are growing about the legality of the operations and how long the offensive will last.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has backed the UN-backed Gang Suppression Force, saying: “There’s no plan B here anymore.” Rubio said on Sunday that the Salvadorans are in Haiti under a separate bilateral agreement, and that Bukele had spoken to President Donald Trump, who understood why he was acting.

Fils-Aimé said last week that the Salvadoran forces were in Haiti alongside his government to help it take on the gangs, and he has set up a coordination cell to synchronise the five forces now operating in the country. Ulloa said El Salvador does not intend to replace the UN-backed force, and that all operational costs remain covered by the Salvadoran government.

The visit comes as Haiti’s elections have been pushed back from December to July 2027, and as the country faces a severe humanitarian crisis, with almost six million people suffering acute hunger. The talks in San Salvador will decide whether the Salvadoran contingent extends its mission or sets out a timetable to withdraw.