El Salvador has launched a military operation to rescue four air force personnel who went missing in Haiti after being ambushed by armed gangs on Sunday.

President Nayib Bukele announced the operation in a post on X on Wednesday, warning that a far more forceful response would follow if the four men were not returned alive and unharmed.

"Do not take our word for empty threats," Bukele wrote, addressing the gangs allegedly holding the men. "We have already finished with the gangs in El Salvador, and we can finish with you too."

The four men are aviation technicians serving with the United Nations-backed Gang Suppression Force (GSF), which was approved by the UN Security Council earlier this month to tackle escalating gang violence in Haiti.

Bukele described the personnel as pilots and technical staff whose primary role was to "carry out medical evacuations and save lives, not to wage war." He said they were kidnapped "in a cowardly manner" while returning from buying food at a local market.

According to El Salvador's armed forces, the group was ambushed while travelling back to its camp in an armoured vehicle, which caught fire after being struck by explosives. The four men have been missing since they fled the burning vehicle in the Santo area of Croix-des-Bouquets, a district of Port-au-Prince controlled by armed groups.

Bukele said the Salvadoran military operation had a single objective: to bring all four men home alive. He added that if they were returned unharmed, "everything will go back to how it was before the kidnapping."

Salvadoran helicopters were deployed to assist in the rescue effort. Multiple attempts to approach by land and air were hampered by ongoing fighting and local security conditions, the armed forces said.

Before Bukele's announcement, the GSF said it was searching for the missing personnel. It reported that it had "engaged armed gang elements, with helicopter support," and that early reports indicated several gang members had been killed.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Haiti's government issued a statement on Wednesday evening saying the release of the abducted soldiers was an "absolute priority." A meeting was held at the prime minister's office to assess ongoing interventions and determine measures to strengthen operations in close collaboration with the GSF. It was not immediately clear whether Haitian authorities had received any confirmation that the four men were alive.

The GSF, which began operating in Haiti last year, includes troops from several countries, among them El Salvador, Chad, Jamaica and Guatemala, with more than 2,000 personnel on the ground.

The UN warned earlier this week that Haiti's armed gangs were adapting to intensified security operations, saying they were "stepping up reprisals against civilians and extending their reach into rural areas."

Armed gangs are estimated to control between 70 and 85 percent of Port-au-Prince. The area where Sunday's attack occurred is held by several gangs, including Chèn Méchan, Kraze Barye, led by Vitel'Homme Innocent, and 400 Mawozo, led by Lanmo Sanjou. Both gang leaders have been sanctioned by the UN and the United States.

Gang violence has displaced nearly 1.5 million people across Haiti in recent years. More than 5,500 people were killed in gang-related violence in 2024, while a separate count recorded more than 5,700 people killed or injured from January through mid-September of the same year, with more than 230 kidnapped, according to the UN.

Haiti has not held elections since 2016. Two weeks ago, presidential and legislative elections scheduled for 13 December were postponed indefinitely. The country has been gripped by economic turmoil, a political vacuum and escalating gang warfare since its president was assassinated in 2021.