‘We Can Fix It:’ Salvadoran President Bukele Offers to Intervene in Haiti Amid Ongoing Crisis

El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele has expressed his willingness to address the escalating crisis in Haiti, which has fallen into chaos as gang leader best known as “Barbecue” attempts to seize power from the crumbling national government.

“We can fix it,” Bukele wrote on X on Sunday. “But we’ll need a UNSC (United Nations Security Council) resolution, the consent of the host country, and all the mission expenses to be covered.”

This statement was later clarified by the presidential press office, indicating Bukele’s intent to engage with Haiti’s political and social challenges, though specifics of his plan remain undisclosed.

Haiti, a country long-troubled by poverty, corruption, and civil unrest, has seen a further decline into chaos as armed factions dominate much of Port-au-Prince and its connecting roads, initiating violent campaigns to unseat Prime Minister Ariel Henry. Amidst the unrest, Henry remains marooned in Puerto Rico following a trip to Kenya; meanwhile, gang kingpin Jimmy “Barbecue” Chérizier continues his full-on assault on the floundering Haitian state.

CARICOM, a consortium of Caribbean nations, has scheduled a dialogue in Jamaica with representatives from the United States, France, Canada, and the United Nations to deliberate on Haiti’s violence. Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali emphasized the urgency of stabilizing security and providing humanitarian aid.

From his position as President of the small Central American nation of El Salvador, Bukele has emerged as one of the most influential and controversial leaders in Latin America. Before his ascension to the highest office in the land, Bukele served as mayor of the nation’s capital San Salvadoran as a member of the left-wing FMLN party.

However, toward the end of his mayoral tenure, Bukele became outspoken against the leaders of the FMLN, and he was expelled from the party in 2017. He challenged both the FMLN and its center-right rival party ARENA for the presidency in 2019, winning handily against remarkable odds despite the efforts of the two major parties to thwart his renegade candidacy.

In March 2022, Bukele declared a war on gangs within El Salvador, instituting a state of emergency that lifted the requirement for arrest warrants, among other freedoms. This directive has led to the arrest of approximately 75,000 individuals suspected of gang affiliations, with a significant number detained in a specially constructed facility, the largest of its kind in the Americas.

“Bukelismo,” as Bukele’s political ideology has been labelled, has seen resounding success at curtailing crime. Only ten years after El Salvador was designated the “murder capital of the world,” the country reported a murder rate of only 2.4 per 100,000 people—well below that of the United States and other first-world countries.

However, Bukele’s success has also brought criticism from journalists and international human rights organizations, who allege that the Salvadoran president’s mass incarceration of face-tattooed criminals constitutes a major violation of civil liberties. Questions have also been raised about the long-term solvency of El Salvador’s incarceration rate of roughly 2 percent, the currently highest in the world.

Despite grumbling by international entities, Bukele’s methods have proven immensely popular within El Salvador. Last month, Bukele was re-elected to the presidency with an overwhelming margin of about 85 percent, even further strengthening his mandate as one of the most beloved and widely emulated heads of state.

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