The remains were handed over by an outside humanitarian organization, the GSF said in an official statement issued from Port-au-Prince on Sunday, October 25. "At this stage, the GSF is not in a position to confirm that the remains are those of the missing personnel," the force stated.
The four Salvadoran airmen have been missing since October 18, when the armored vehicle they were traveling in was attacked by armed men in Santo, in Croix-des-Bouquets, on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince.
Bukele: "They are not our men"
Bukele pushed back on Saturday, a day before the GSF statement, rejecting reports — first published by The New York Times — that the remains delivered belonged to his four soldiers.
"They are not our men," Bukele said, explaining that among the remains were those of a child, a man considerably taller than the missing Salvadoran airmen, and a person wearing elements of a foreign military uniform.
The GSF also clarified that a Chadian military ID card whose images circulated on social media does not belong to any of the four Salvadorans. The card belongs to a soldier from the Chadian contingent who lost the document during the search operations; the soldier has been located and remains with his unit.
The search continues
The GSF said search operations continue in coordination with Haitian and Salvadoran authorities, and that it will release new information through its official channels once verified details are available.
Jack Christofides, the GSF's special representative, expressed solidarity with the families of the four missing personnel. "Our thoughts are with the families of the four missing personnel, their fellow soldiers, and the Government and people of El Salvador during these difficult moments," Christofides said.
The force thanked Haitian authorities, troop-contributing countries, and Salvadoran authorities, and stressed that coordination with Haiti's security forces remains essential to confront the armed gangs threatening Haitian communities.
The incident has become one of the most sensitive tests for the multinational mission in Haiti, which El Salvador joined as one of its main troop contributors. Bukele has staked his international reputation on exporting his security model, and the fate of the four missing soldiers is now a political issue in San Salvador as much as a military one in Port-au-Prince.
Fuentes: El Testigo, FV Digital, Lado.mx, Publimetro El Salvador, InfoENN, Centroamérica360, comunicado oficial de la GSF.