Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele spoke directly to Haitians in a message in Haitian Kreyòl on Thursday, saying his country has not sent troops to dominate Haiti or take its wealth, Juno7 reported.

“We did not come to Haiti to make money,” he said, adding that no one is paying El Salvador to be there. He said the mission is to find four missing Salvadoran soldiers and to fight gangs, and that it is not aimed at Haitians or at their sovereignty.

Bukele said El Salvador is paying about 90% of the cost of the operation, with logistical help from partners, and that its soldiers will return home once the mission is over. He gave no budget figure and no withdrawal date, and did not say how success would be measured.

He compared Haiti's situation to the violence El Salvador lived through before his crackdown on gangs and asked Haitians to “help us help Haiti.” His government has confirmed it will deploy more than 2,000 soldiers to Haiti, HaitiLibre reported. Four Salvadoran soldiers have been missing since an ambush near Port-au-Prince on October 18.