Bukele Urges Haitians to Take Back Control of Their Country and Preserve Dessalines’ Legacy

Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele is calling on Haitians to stand up against armed groups and take back control of their territory. In a message posted on his X account on November 3, 2026, he also denounced the role some Haitian actors play in financing and arming criminal groups.

Invoking the assassination of Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Bukele drew a parallel with the conduct of those who, in his view, are helping to destroy Haiti today. He accused some of financing gangs, supplying them with weapons and profiting from the violence.

The Salvadoran president argued that the crisis cannot be blamed on foreigners alone, since Haitians are also helping to sustain the criminal networks. He stressed, however, that his country stands ready to support Haiti without seeking to replace its institutions or occupy its territory.

Hopes pinned on Salvadoran troops

The remarks come as Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé also insisted on Tuesday that Haitian institutions must lead security operations. He noted that foreign forces are there to support the Haitian National Police (PNH) and the Armed Forces of Haiti (FAd’H), not to replace them.

The arrival of Salvadoran troops raised hopes among many Haitians, weary of living under the threat of armed groups. Their deployment was seen as reinforcements that could help national forces retake gang-controlled areas, particularly in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area.

Still, how the operations are conducted and what they achieve on the ground remain the key questions. For the Haitian government, the challenge is also to show that foreign support can strengthen national capacity without undermining the state’s responsibility for the country’s security.

Moïse François