This is the transcript of episode 95 of the weekly El Faro English podcast, Central America in Minutes.
GRESSIER, HOST: Since the October 18 disappearance of four Salvadoran aviation technicians from the U.N.-backed security mission in Haiti, Nayib Bukele announced on social media that over 2,000 Salvadoran troops have already arrived, purportedly to find them.
This is Wildlore Mérancourt, editor-in-chief of the Haitian independent news organization AyiboPost in the capital city, Port-au-Prince.
MÉRANCOURT: What is the rule of engagement? Are they going to respect international law and human rights? Are they going to make the same mistakes as the private military contractors, killing people who are civilians with total impunity?
GRESSIER: I’m your host, Roman Gressier. On today’s episode: El Salvador amasses over 2,000 troops in Haiti. Two migrant caravans leave Honduras within one month. And the Guatemalan government sacks the police chief amid a major murder investigation.
From the studios of El Faro English, this is Central America in Minutes.
Salvadoran troops in Haiti
On Wednesday, October 28, the government of El Salvador announced that more than 2,000 troops are now stationed in Haiti, purportedly to rescue four Salvadoran technicians who disappeared in the country on October 18, reports Leyrian Colón Santiago.
In a separate statement, Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé confirmed that he had a phone call with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele to shore up cooperation within the framework of the U.N.-backed gang suppression force.
The Salvadoran members of the joint mission were reported missing after their vehicle was ambushed in a gang-controlled area in the northern part of the Haitian capital.
Bukele warned, “Today’s attack is nothing compared to what is to come if the four living hostages are not released.” He added, “we have already defeated the gangs in El Salvador, and we can defeat yours, too.”
Since 2024, Bukele has offered to “fix” Haiti’s security crisis. Last year, troops from El Salvador and Guatemala joined the U.N.-backed coalition, intended to help Haitian authorities establish enough security to hold elections.
On October 29, Bukele said in an online message in Haitian Creole that El Salvador is footing 90 percent of deployment costs “with some logistical help from other countries.”
According to The New York Times, burned remains found on October 24 were examined to determine whether they were the bodies of the four Salvadoran technicians.
But Bukele posted on X that they “are not our men.” Among the remains, he added, “identification cards and military uniforms from other countries were also found.”
On October 25, the Gang Suppression Force confirmed that it had received, through an “independent humanitarian organization,” some remains that “are suspected to be those of the four missing Salvadorans.” But they caveated that they were “not in a position to confirm.”
That same day, the leader of one of Haiti’s most powerful criminal organizations, Joseph Wilson, claimed that the Salvadorans had been killed in an allied gang’s territory.
Two days before, he published a video threatening Bukele. Now he addressed Bukele and the Haitian government, describing the deaths as a “mistake” he “wouldn’t have made.”
Bukele has not clarified the command structure of the 2,000-strong rescue force, the duration of their stay, or what duties they will perform.
As of Friday morning, October 30, the whereabouts, condition, and identities of the Salvadorans remained unknown.
Migrant caravans leave Honduras
Next, to Honduras. On October 13, around 500 Hondurans left their country in a caravan and crossed into Guatemala, headed for the United States, reports Yuliana Ramazzini.
The Honduran digital outlet Contracorriente reported that migrants cited rising prices for basic goods and gasoline as the driving factors. They also mentioned insecurity, poverty, and inequality.
As an intense dry spell ravaged Honduras this year, this is the second so-called caravan to set off in less than a month. In June and August, at least another two groups departed from Tapachula, Mexico, including Hondurans and Guatemalans.
On September 20, a group set out with about 400 Hondurans. The Guatemalan President’s Office said over 250 people entered the country legally, while around 100 faced sanctions. Another 50, including families, received “attention” from Guatemalan authorities.
Only part of the September group was able to continue on its journey north, according to Contracorriente.
"Migrants Are Very Important, but Mexico Comes First"
After they left Honduras, President Nasry Asfura told reporters in New York that “someone is promoting them for financial gain.” He also claimed he had spoken with the White House about tens of thousands of Hondurans who lost TPS protections from deportation last year.
The U.S. Embassy in Honduras posted a generic message asserting that “the caravans are failing and the border is closed to illegal immigrants.” The Embassy has posted several messages in recent weeks, in keeping with longstanding U.S. anti-migration media campaigns.
The groups who left Honduras this year are much smaller than the caravans of thousands of migrants who traversed Central America and Mexico in 2018 and 2019.
Now, apprehensions of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border are at “historic lows,” the Migration Policy Institute found in an October 29 fact sheet. In its first eighteen months, the Trump administration deported around 980,000 people.
“On an annual basis, total deportations are up from the Biden and first Trump administrations but remain well below the levels routinely observed in the early 2000s,” wrote the Institute.
Undeterred, the group that left Honduras on October 13 called their caravan “Faith and Hope.” On October 1, a month before the U.S. midterms, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said he had spoken with his Mexican counterpart. The migrants, he underscored, had “zero chance” of entering the United States.
Guatemalan police chief dismissed
Last, Guatemala’s police chief has been sacked, reports Gabriel Labrador.
Two weeks after the murder of Juan Francisco Solórzano Foppa, a former anti-mafia prosecutor and tax chief, much of the investigation has focused on apparent foul play by the National Civil Police.
On Friday, October 23, seven officers from Precinct 13 in Guatemala City were arrested on charges of arbitrarily detaining two brothers for Foppa’s murder.
The brothers, Rigoberto and Daniel Choc Toz, were arrested minutes after the crime. But the next day, Sunday, October 18, a judge set them free for lack of evidence. They accused the police, among other allegations, of planting a weapon in their food delivery backpack.
Death of an Anti-Corruption Prosecutor
Seven officers involved in their capture were arrested a week later. They face charges of abuse of authority, fabricating a crime, obstruction of justice, and illegally transporting firearms.
One of the officers, on his way to a court hearing, stated that “organized crime laughs when arrests are made. Organized crime is deeply involved in politics, and politics is deeply involved in organized crime.”
The commander of Precinct 13 was also arrested. The officers’ identities have been kept confidential, so only their first names are known. They appeared in court in Guatemala City over three days to give initial statements and were then transferred to the Mariscal Zavala prison.
Days later, on October 27, the government made its first major shakeup: Police Director David Custodio Boteo was sacked.
Interior Minister Marco Antonio Villeda also ordered the removal of Deputy Police Director for Operations Esvin Jacinto Quiché, who was summoned before Congress after Foppa’s murder. Minister Villeda promised “a deeper restructuring and further changes within the National Civil Police.”
So far this year, 26 police officers have been killed. And on October 24, exactly one week after Foppa’s killing, the acting warden of a prison in Escuintla was shot dead on his motorcycle in the middle of the street.
This episode was written by Leyrian Colón Santiago, Yuliana Ramazzini, and Gabriel Labrador. Editing by Roman Gressier and sound design by Omnionn.
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