Bukele said that Salvadoran troops will use a stadium in Haiti as a base: "We discovered several human skulls"

Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele announced the installation of a Salvadoran military base at the Sylvio Cator stadium in Port-au-Prince. (Courtesy: Nayib Bukele) The president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, announced this Thursday that his country's forces will use the Sylvio Cator stadium in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, as an operational base. This came after an operation that allowed the venue and its surrounding areas to be recovered from gang control. In a post on X, Bukele stated that the operation was carried out within the framework of a bilateral agreement between the governments of Haiti and El Salvador. "During the operation, we discovered several human skulls inside the stadium," the Salvadoran head of state said. Bukele added that the venue will be used to deepen operations against the armed groups that dominate sectors of the Haitian capital. He also stated that the installation of the base will provide a "ground advantage." "I firmly ask all gang members to leave the area before the offensive begins," he warned. He also stressed that armed groups that remain to fight will have to "face the consequences." Nayib Bukele demanded that gang members leave the area before the start of the military offensive. (Courtesy: Nayib Bukele/EFE) According to information from EFE, the venue, located in the Haitian capital, had remained under gang control since February 2024. Before the escalation of violence, it was the venue where the national soccer team played its home matches. In a press release, the Haitian National Police (PNH) reported that, together with the Task Force, it regained full control of the Sylvio Cator stadium and the surrounding areas during an operation carried out in the early morning hours. The intervention made it possible to recover the sports venue and the spaces located in its surroundings. Subsequently, the PNH handed over control of the sports venue to the Armed Forces of El Salvador (FAES), which took custody of the site with the task of guaranteeing the security of the space. The Haitian National Police transferred control of the sports venue to the Armed Forces of El Salvador after the early morning operation. (Courtesy: Haitian National Police) El Salvador's military presence in Haiti expanded following the disappearance of four Salvadoran aviation technicians on October 18, after an ambush on the armored vehicle they were traveling in in Croix-des-Bouquets, in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area. The four were part of the Gang Suppression Force (GSF), a multinational structure backed by the United Nations that supports Haitian forces. Their duties included aviation tasks, medical evacuation, and the transport of the wounded, according to available information. The search led to the dispatch of an additional contingent from El Salvador. Figures released by various authorities and media outlets put the deployment at more than 2,000 soldiers. The contingent includes special forces, infantry, support personnel, and air units. In another earlier operation, Bukele announced on Tuesday, November 10, the destruction of a mansion that was being used by the 400 Mawozo gang as its headquarters and by its leader, Lanmò San Jou. In his post, the president shared images of helicopters attacking the compound and stated that the intervention was carried out with the support of Haitian forces.