El Salvador sends more than 2,000 troops to Haiti to find four missing soldiers as Haiti delays its elections

El Salvador's foreign ministry said Wednesday that President Nayib Bukele had told Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé of a "robust deployment" of more than 2,000 soldiers to Haiti, the BBC and Al Jazeera reported. The troops are to search for four Salvadoran air force technicians serving with the UN-backed Gang Suppression Force, who went missing after their armored vehicle was ambushed in Croix-des-Bouquets, east of Port-au-Prince, on Oct. 18, and to support operations against gangs. No gang has claimed responsibility for the ambush.

Also on Wednesday, Haiti's Provisional Electoral Council moved the first round of presidential and legislative elections from Dec. 13 to July 18, 2027, Al Jazeera and the Miami Herald reported.

Why it matters: Foreign troops have served in Haiti under UN-backed arrangements since 2024, partly to make elections possible, Al Jazeera reported. The new date pushes the first round of voting back by about seven months.