Tuesday around 11:00 a.m. as part of the reinforcement of the Multinational Mission for Security Support (MMSS), a new contingent of 70 Salvadoran soldiers arrived in Port-au-Prince.

To welcome this contingent, a ceremony was organized on the tarmac of Toussaint Louverture International Airport, in the presence of Leslie Voltaire, President pro tempore of the Transitional Council, the Ambassadors to Haiti, Antoine Michon (France) and André François Giroux (Canada), the Commander in Chief of the MMSS, Inspector General Godfrey Otunge, Deputy Commander Henry Kevyn, the Acting Commander of the Haitian National Police (PNH) Rameau Normil and other members of the High Command of the Haitian National Police.

President Leslie Voltaire welcomed the arrival of this Salvadoran contingent that will work in support of the police. It should be noted that this contingent, which follows the vanguard of 8 Salvadorans who arrived on January 18, 2025 https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-43986-haiti-flash-first-reinforcements-from-guatemala-and-el-salvador-have-arrived-video.html includes doctors and other medical support personnel who will ensure the air evacuation of soldiers or police officers injured during operations.

For his part, Commander Godfrey Otunge expressed his deep gratitude to the international community, in particular the Canadian Government, for its decisive role in the successful deployment of this contingent in Haiti and also his sincere thanks to all national and international actors whose constant support has made it possible to achieve significant progress on the ground, affirming "We will emerge victorious from this mission [...] the collaboration with the PNH remains solid, based on mutual trust, close cooperation and a common goal: to restore peace and stability in Haiti."

Concerning the arrival of the continent of El Salvador, he declared "[...] This contingent brings valuable expertise in air support, which will be essential for medical evacuation and medical evacuation operations within the Mission." The arrival of the helicopters planned for this week will strengthen the mission's evacuation capacity.

With this Salvadoran contingent, the total strength of the Mission is now 877 military/police personnel (617 Kenyans, 150 Guatemalans, 78 Salvadorans, 6 Bahamians, 24 Jamaicans and 2 Belizeans) out of the 2,500 men in total from different countries, estimated for the mission.

Should be noted the announcement on January 18 by Presidential Advisor Fritz Alphonse Jean on the arrival of another Kenyan contingent of about 200 men by the end of January did not materialize... https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-44091-haiti-flash-218-kenyan-soldiers-arrived-in-haiti-video.html

Statement by Leslie Voltaire, on the occasion of the arrival of the Salvadoran contingent :

See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-44091-haiti-flash-218-kenyan-soldiers-arrived-in-haiti-video.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-43986-haiti-flash-first-reinforcements-from-guatemala-and-el-salvador-have-arrived-video.html

SL/ HaitiLibre