El Salvador's President Bukele says his forces took back Haiti stadium. But Haiti police say they did it

Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald on Nov 13, 2026

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Haitian police, backed by a task force that uses explosive drones, have seized control of the country’s national stadium and handed it to Salvadoran forces to secure.

The recovery of the stadium took place on Thursday, Haiti National Police said in a statement.

“After recovering the area, the [Haiti National Police] turned over control to the Armed Forces of El Salvador that took the lead in consolidating the area,” the statement, posted on social media, said.

The retaking of the stadium capped months of intensified anti-gang operations by Haiti’s security forces, which have been pushing armed gangs out of neighborhoods near the stadium. But El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele claimed in a post that the seizure was the result of “a joint operation involving the Haitian national police, the Haitian Armed Forces, the task force and the Salvadoran Special Forces.”

Along with his post, Bukele, who has been actively taking credit for recent security gains carried out by Haitian police and the drone task force operating out of the Haitian prime minister’s office, posted a video on social media showing his forces inside the stadium. He also showed robot dogs with rifles mounted on them.

“During the operation, we discovered several human skulls inside the stadium. We will now establish an operational base at the stadium so we can continue advancing deeper into territory controlled by the gangs,” Bukele said on X. “We now have the upper hand on the ground. I firmly demand that all gang members leave the area before the offensive begins. Those who choose to stay and fight our forces will have to face the consequences.”

El Salvador’s rapid deployment came after the Oct. 18 disappearance of four of the country’s aviation technicians deployed under the United Nations-authorized Gang Suppression Force after a gang ambush east of Port-au-Prince. The buildup has put additional boots on the ground, but also added to an already crowded security landscape.

Still, the deployment of roughly 2,500 Salvadoran troops has excited Haitians even as the lack of a clear strategy raises questions about Bukele’s true intentions. At the same time, the troops’ presence has intensified the gang fight and a communications war in a country where government institutions aren’t always forthcoming.

But as Bukele’s social media messaging has become more elaborate, and claims of military success more sweeping, there has also been a widening gap between the image the Central American leader projects online and the reality on the ground. A member of the Haitian national police was visibly annoyed when the Miami Herald called to ask about Bukele’s post taking credit for the seizure of Stade Sylvio Cato.

Named after Haiti’s 1928 Olympic silver medalist in the long jump, Sylvio Cato, the stadium was built in 1953 and has become synonymous with Haiti’s national soccer team, Les Grenadiers. However, with the area around the stadium under the control of armed gangs for the last two years, the team has not been able to hold matches inside.

As a result of gangs’ control, Haiti became the first country to qualify for this year’s FIFA World Cup without having played a soccer match at home. On Saturday, Miami’s Nu Stadium will serve as the team’s home when Les Grenadiers face Team USA in the first of two qualifiers in the Concacaf Nations League regional tournament.

On Friday, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres’ office said humanitarian colleagues in Haiti warn that the intensified clashes are putting people at growing risk, particularly in densely populated neighborhoods of Port-au-Prince.

Since mid-October, violence in the administrative district of Croix-des-Bouquets, where the Salvadoran technicians were ambushed, has displaced around 2,000 people, according to the International Organization for Migration.

“Between January and September 2026, some 4,200 people were killed in violence according to the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights, and some 1.5 million people remain displaced across the country,” said Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for the secretary-general.

“The violence is hindering our ability to coordinate safe humanitarian operations and curtailing our access, making it harder to reach people in need. We call for communities to be protected and to be able to access health facilities, schools and other essential services.”