October 30, 2026
The Nayib Bukele administration in El Salvador has taken an unprecedented step by sending 2,000 troops into Haiti to rescue their own citizens who they suspect were taken hostage by gangs on that beleaguered island nation.
We have to ask how El Salvador was authorized to send in a 2,000 plus troop surge into Haiti. It seemed to have no international treaty or agreement that supports it.
This is dangerous, because now what will stop El Salvador from sending troops into other Caribbean countries if their administration believes it has a reason to do so.
This sets a very concerning precedent in the Western Hemisphere. Under former American presidential administrations any country seeking any intervention in the region under any circumstance had to get the blessing of the United States government and then they may be allowed to act. If anything, the US would find alternative means to solving the impasse.
But this move by El Salvador is unprecedented. This could spell a slippery slope towards interventionism in the region by other countries much larger than El Salvador.
This must be put into its proper perspective at the multi-lateral agency level and at the US congressional level.
This cannot be the new standard.