El Salvador Deploys About 2,000 Soldiers to Haiti

El Salvador had about 2,000 soldiers in Haiti as of Wednesday night, according to a security official cited by Reuters. The figure was reported on October 29.

Earlier, the government said it would send the troops. El Salvador's foreign ministry, the department that handles the country's relations with other nations, said the soldiers would rescue missing personnel and support anti-gang security operations in Haiti. Anti-gang operations are efforts to counter armed criminal groups, which the ministry's statement described as the target of the mission. The ministry's announcement was reported by Reuters on October 28.

The BBC reported on the same day that the soldiers were sent to retrieve four Salvadoran nationals who had gone missing. "Nationals" here means citizens of El Salvador.